Twenty eight degrees. I had to crawl out of my small tent a bit to see the thermometer and although the air was already chill, it seemed to get a more frigid as I read the digits. Exactly where the low was predicted to be. That may have been the temperature inside of the larger tarp tent, though I’m pretty sure the small tent that I sleep in (inside of the larger tarp tent) stays a few degrees warmer than that from my body heat in such a small space.
The next move was easy too while I was already half up and out of my tent, I reached over and turned on both burners of the stove, then crawled back in under my mummy bag. It didn’t seem that cold at first, yet it only took a few seconds of exposure for it to hit me (and I was still wearing jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt that I had slept in.) The cold had really set in over the night with nearly no wind at all, which was to my advantage in the morning- no drafts to blow away my heat.
I laid in bed for a while scrolling on my phone and wondered how long it would take to warm up in here. I have sat up and raised my arm up into the height of the tent and realized it was already fifty a few feet up. For the first time, I crawled out without my shoes on, put the water kettle on the stove, wrapped a blanket around me, sat in my chair and opened my laptop. As it warmed more, I became very comfortable. I hot cup of tea put my over the edge into cozy by time it was sixty five.
This was a nice and relaxing morning. No rush, no plans, nothing that I needed that I didn’t already have here at camp. My car is parked exactly where it was yesterday: all thanks to my new indoor toilet. I hate to be excited about something like this, though it really does provide some peace of mind. Knowing where your next meal will come from is important, knowing where your last meal will go is critical.
I squandered most of the morning just fiddling around on my laptop and the Internet, so easy to lose time there. Most mornings I spend patching and repairing the tarp tent, yet this morning none were necessary. I think I’ve got this design locked in, although it does need a few things. Firstly, stronger seems. For now the four edges at each corner are rolled and clipped, and they mostly hold well. Yet, a bit more permanent, I think I will use some paracord to sew those rolled seams together, that will be solid.
Then, a door. A found a pair of stick on tarp zippers on Amazon. Essentially, you just stick them on your tarp wherever you want a door, unzip it, then just cut through the tarp down the middle of the zipper, I’m hoping they work well. Yet as that delivery isn’t scheduled until Friday, I won’t be able to add them to the tent until the next stop… wherever that may be (I’m still mostly thinking of Southwest New Mexico.
A few walks around the bay today, the wind was strong today (twenty five gusting forty) yet I am learning to endure walking in it. Just trying to stand still in it is a challenge. And certainly, that was the cause of failure in my rope jumping today- who could in all this wind. Ha. Jumping rope is not coming well, yet I keep trying every day. Even if I can’t jump over the rope, I am jumping and learning to keep my balance while doing it.. and it is kind of fun to try, in a maddening self challenge kind of way.
BLiMey is back. Saw him last night. Maybe it’s not the same mouse, yet this one looks identical. And I’ve seen a lot of mice, I’ve had pet rats etc, same color, same size (a little fattened) and I’m pretty sure it’s him. He was in the tarp tent, coming around the corner until he saw me and ran back. A few minutes later, the same thing- just like the first night I met him in the car.
This morning, a holes chewed into two bags of trail mix. Good to know this organic trail mix from Walmart is mouse approved.
Tomorrow? Tomorrow I get to go the Carlsbad Field Office to get a map of the mountains and begin planning the trip to see a waterfall.
Time to rest.