The campsite overlooked a sparkling blue lake that flowed into the green forest of the mountains. In the sun, we sat marveling at the mysterious landforms that seemed to graze the light blue sky. It was peaceful there, nestled in our little camp in the forest. The orange of our tent glinted in the sun that warmed the wood for our campfire that night. It was a simple day of napping, swimming, eating and reading. I was so relaxed as the sun heated my skin in its comforting light. In those moments of peace, I was glad I'd come camping and was even ready to commit to a future trip. And then came the night.
When dusk came and the sun moved behind the mountains, that's when the wind died down and suddenly, there was nowhere to hide from the hordes of insects that arrived. First came the gnats and I'll admit that it was fascinating to watch their spiraling swarm even as I moved my chair as far from them as possible. Then it was the mosquitoes from which we were mostly protected by the bucket of DEET we sprayed on ourselves.
It was while we were sitting quietly, enjoying our campfire burgers that they came. We were already swatting away the ants -- not only the little carpenter ants that sometimes sneak into your house, but also the huge ants that looked like the semi-trucks in the highway of ants. For the most part, they avoided us and for that I was grateful. Seeing those, I remained extremely conscious of closing the tent as quickly as possible when entering and exiting our tiny piece of shelter. I did not want to wake up to insects crawling all over me. But it was the spiders that were my downfall.
I already suffer from that fear of spiders that everyone deep down seems to be afflicted with. However, on this trip in the wilderness, I discovered how much they actually freak me out. They were EVERYWHERE. On the water bottles, the lantern and even our bags of food. Each one seemed to be bigger than the last, their spindly legs nightmarishly crawling over every surface, making my fear show itself in the spider-get-off-me dance. Finally, I decided nature had bested me and I started getting myself ready for bed. That was when the dark storm clouds began rolling in.
Between the gross bathroom and the stickiness I felt from not being able to shower off the layers of bug spray and sunscreen that was on my body, going to sleep on the hard, rocky ground wasn't great. But it was bearable and I'll confess that I slept pretty well considering the circumstances. For it was then that the wind picked up and we were startled by the crash of thunder and lightning that we discovered the next morning had knocked down a tree. Suddenly, our little tent was engulfed by the pouring rain. We were trapped inside this shelter of thin (and thankfully waterproof) material, at the mercy of the elements. Though the tent remained standing as it shielded us from the rain, it was still not an inviting experience to a first-time camper.
Thus, for my overall score of camping on a scale of 1-10, worst to best, I would probably give the experience a 5.7. Though I don't think I would ever yearn to voluntarily go stay out in the woods on vacation, I did love the peaceful atmosphere of the daytime that made me feel completely relaxed. It was the bugs, the storm and the level of how gross I felt afterwards that makes me hesitate to go again. But I will keep an open mind for I do see another camping excursion in my future, if only to make my loved ones happy.
In all, I would recommend the experience to anyone who hasn't gone because for as much as I hated it, it was an experience that has further contributed to my journey of conquering my fear of spiders and other creepy insects. Still, I would gladly take a nice, cozy cabin over a flimsy, exposed tent.
