Camping – Page 2

Weekend Ephiphany

July 30, 2017 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

A Friday off of work, and enough water to float the canyon seemed like an omen.

Lower it Down

Ready to Launch

Since we were camping we could afford to be the last boat down the river that day, take our time and have all the privacy that we could want. Drakes and stones were popping off and the fish were looking up. While we didn’t break a tape measure we certainly had our fair share of takes, breaks, and even a few fish to hand.

Lots of These

We pulled into camp and unloaded our gear, among that gear was a new piece of sleeping equipment. For years I’d read about hammocks, reluctant and skeptical I had yet to purchase one. My colleague on this adventure however felt they warranted a try and so we set up his new Warbonnet Ridgerunner bridge style hammock. Oh and Coldsmoke, always at least a single Coldsmoke for a night outdoors.

Pulled up to Camp

A Single Coldsmoke

Warbonnet Ridgerunner

For those of you who haven’t picked up on this hammock camping thing, get on it. Incredibly light, easy to set up, and most of all it was the most comfortable thing in the entire world. This has changed the way I will look at camping for the rest of my life. I will never sleep on a pad or cot again if I don’t have to. These things pack down into nothing, weigh nothing, and are incredibly comfortable to boot. This was worlds better than the thermarest, cot, and even the JPW silverback foam Paco Pad that I’ve used.

Solitude on the Colorado

September 7, 2016 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

Boating traffic diminishes significantly after Two Bridges and I had rarely been below there myself. Packed for an overnight I saw a huge portion of the middle river that I had never seen before.

From Two Bridges to Spencers Cabin the river is docile and meanders through geography similar to the 8 miles above Two Bridges. A handful of storm clouds rolled through bringing periods of brief rain showers throughout the day, and the fish were receptive to streamers thrown from both ends of the boat.

First Fish of the Trip

Second Fish, Second Rainbow

Early afternoon saw some storms roll in and we saw the last boat we would see for the remainder of the trip.

Afternoon Brown

More Streamers

We pulled into Spencers Cabin around 730 with a wind storm directly behind us. Food was prepared hurriedly as night feel not long after we arrived. We slept on yoga mats and next to uninsulated walls as the storm raged on outside. It was the best sleep I might have ever had.

Breakfast was started early, coffee was warmed with a blow torch, and food prepared over an open fire.

The Rules

Coffee Warming

View from the Kitchen

Breakfast Stove

Chef’s Table

Morning on the Front Porch

Day 2 was complete solitude, we didn’t see another soul other than a few cars driving up and down the desolate dirt road.

Half Light of the Canyon

Our Only Visitors

Rodeo Rapid Ahead

Another Streamer Victim

Then came the rain…

Da Rain

Fish in the Rain

Turk’s Tarantula…in the Rain

The clouds eventually parted as we rowed the last few miles. Streamers were thrown and the bigger the bug the more interest we received.

Black Circus Peanut

First Mate Taking the Ship into Port

Last Moments at the Take Out

Food, Fish, & Why Eggs Benedict is Awesome

July 30, 2012 by n.taylor 8 Comments

So we have this discussion about egg patterns and some different ways people rig the things. Somehow this conversation quickly moved into a doctoral dissertation on why eggs benedict is the best breakfast “ever created”.

Hollandaise sauce is amazing. I mean, I might as well be injecting peanut butter straight into my jugular but you know, it’s just so good.
-Michael Gracie

So I’m thinking at this point that we are going to have a nice little eggs benedict camp breakfast the next morning. I play dumb, not wanting to clue him in that I figured out his little contribution to the weekend. He keeps strict watch over the cooler throughout the day, further heightening my suspicions. We continue on through the day, fishing some great streams and lakes.

We sit down for dinner and enjoy an above average dish of chili cheese dogs. They were good, but left me feeling unfulfilled, the anticipation of eggs benedict the next day consumed my thoughts. To make matters worse we’re sharing what is essentially a one person tent which causes the humidity to approach 117% and turn our shelter into a sweaty torture chamber.

I awake to a beautiful morning, the neck is a little stiff, and my skin is stuck to the sleeping bag but nothing some eggs benedict can’t help. I go outside, brush my teeth, and turn to ask what was for breakfast…

We had fucking hot pockets.