Saturday, October 31, 2009

Turning tail on the trail

This was our second experiment into the possibilities of camping on the trail. We'd hoped to establish a way to head out on the trail into far reaching destinations and be able to camp for the night when we got tired instead of heading home. Well, to put it mildly, it just isn't going to happen, leastways, not in the winter time...come to think of it, probably not in the summer either.
We headed for Burnt Corral along the Apache Trail again. We were optimistic upon arriving, the weather was perfect with temperatures in the upper 70s. Setting up the tent was easy with no wind at all. That evening we were happy campers as we enjoyed a meal by the campfire. The next day dawned bright and sunny as well but by mid afternoon the winds began to pick up, gusting at times to at least 40 miles per hour. The tent ballooned and billowed but held its ground. The temperature began to drop adding to the chill factor. Of course with the high wind we had to eliminate the possibility of a campfire that night, we had no choice but to head to bed early and hope for a better day the next day. That night, the winds blew without ceasing, at times we wondered if we'd make headlines if our tent decided to blow away with us inside, (ala "balloon-boy" )
The next few days didn't improve as almost record low temperatures hit Arizona. Sleeping proved to be a challenge in the cold so we decided to use our propane heater designed for use in a tent. Ah warmth at last...but what we didn't count on was the condensation the heat on the tent walls that would be created when the heat hit the cold walls of the tent..getting dressed in cold, wet clothes the next morning only set the mood for the entire day and seeing Growlph with his teeth chattering from the cold eased our decision to pack it all up and head for home. I dunno, maybe we're getting too old for the adventure lifestyle although we would hate to ponder and possibly admit to it.
We'll still be hitting the trails and doing our jeeping but if we're going to be away overnight, perhaps we'll be phoning ahead...for reservations.


Cozy by the campfire on day one



What a beautiful sunset over Apache Lake!


Ah camping at its finest


It only got better...

The next day, gray, windy and dismal