Biology Trail Campout

July 28, 2007 - Saturday                  

Current mood:  pleased

Category: Friends

Most people have a list of things they secretly want to do sometime either before they die or graduate (whichever comes first), or at least before they move on to other dreams and aspirations. One of those things on my list was to camp out on the Biology Trail. My Freshman year at Southern I heard about this guy who lived all summer on the Biology Trail while he took classes! I knew I could never get away with that, other than my frequent day-hikes, but one night would be something at least.

Before I go further, I must admit that there is a sign at one entrance of the Biology Trail that does state that camping is prohibited. Maybe I should admit that yes, we did break that rule. But I would rather argue that since we entered on the entrance closest to my house, which is only a trail LEADING to the Biology trail, that perhaps we weren't technically in the wrong. But I digress...

So my friend Sonya said she would go with me as one of our last fun things before she departed for Africa (next week). Here's a short summary of our trip. We left late, trying to get all our stuff together--which wasn't really that much. We were already tired from hiking Suck Creek all afternoon, so by the time we got on the trail hauling our sleeping bags and pillows, well, we might have been a little less enthusiastic about the idea than when we'd first planned it. But soon, we got into the outdoor spirit of things, after seeing heaps of sparkling spider eyes in the headlamp light, then turning off the light and hiking in moonlight, and then turning it back on to see floating eyes on the trail ahead--a gray fox! (I think it was gray--could have been a red one though I guess.) That, and taking crazy pictures like we were on a serious backpacking trip made the adventure more adventurous. (They are in my albums on here if you want to see them). Eventually, we made it to the clearing we'd picked out, and spent the next half-hour making up knots good enough to hold our hammocks, then finally attempting to sleep. i think Sonya actually slept. I kind of dozed. :( Then, just when I was starting to get some decent sleep, it started raining at about 3:30 a.m. Drizzle around these parts in the summer means downpour before too long. So we packed it all up and hiked the half-mile back to the house before the downpour (and saw that fox again!), and ended the early morning hours in air-conditioned comfort!

Yeah! What an adventure! I think I got it out of my system though, but I will ever be grateful to Sonya for helping me achieve my dream. :)

11:42 PM 1 Comments  2 Kudos