Last weekend my roommate (a very active member of the hiking club) invited me (not a member of the hiking club or active at all) and a few other hiking club kids to her hunting cabin in Steamboat. As a naive freshman from Texas, you can probably guess I figured out some very important things in a very short amount of time.
1. Cars, no matter how great the four-wheel drive, will get stuck
The five of us had stared at the unplowed driveway that led up to the cabin and decided we should at least try to get to the top. Two inches into the snow and a couple of unmoving tires later had us climbing out to get the shovels.
2. Forget about ever feeling your toes
I hadn't thought we'd get stuck so far from the cabin right off the bat, so of course, while everyone else is sliding on their snow boots (mine were buried too deep in my duffel), I'm chilling in my beat up converse. It took all of thirty seconds before I was hoofing it on permanent feetsicles.
3. Making a fire is harder than it looks
It's rare that you need a fire in Texas. I imagined you only had to grab a log, pour some gasoline on there, and viola, you have a movie-worthy fire.
I was wrong.
4. Peeing outside should be an olympic sport
The water in the cabin couldn't be turned on for the sake of keeping the pipes from freezing, meaning toilets were a no no. Let's just say if popping a squat in the snow for the sake of your bladder was an olympic sport, I would've come in dead last.
5. Hot pockets become your main food source
...my tongue is still burnt.
6. Cabin in the Woods is the best horror movie ever made
It's pretty hard not to relate to a guy who understands that when you find a hidden cellar, you SHOULDN'T GO IN.
The fact that he's high the entire movie makes it 100% better.
7. Snowshoeing is actually impossible
Strapping on complicated tennis racket things to your feet won't change the fact that you'll sink at least two feet and face plant over fifty times in less than an hour.
8. Peeing in the dark puts every scary movie to shame
I've already gone over how hard it is to pee outside period. Now try hearing a bunch of creepy sounds from the forest and picturing all of the horrible things that could pop out and eat you.
Not a good time.
9. Getting off the grid is great... until it's not
It's awesome not having to respond to a hundred messages or snapchats, but then you get a little bored. You start standing on chairs in the corner of the room trying to get that magical little bar to pop up.
10. You actually don't want to leave
As much as I want to keep complaining about the small things, I really can't. You can't beat being that involved in nature and the world around you. I wouldn't trade a second of the falls, laughs or memories for anything.
It was a weekend I'll never forget.
