Camping Solo- The True Story

By Joni Johnson

Summer dreams- My camping experience as a first time tent camper, seen by winters light.

I have never tent camped. I have backpacked and then did a few RV runs with my husband Tom.   But I wanted to join the Southern Oregon Returned Peace Corps volunteers on their annual camping adventure.  I owned no camping equipment, so I went all out.  I decided to try sleeping in my SUV, which required a mattress that would fit.  And, of course, I needed a sleeping bag.  Then came the little one burner stove that would use butane, and all the little goodies for feeding myself while on the road.  At the Peace Corps planning meeting, I discovered that the only toilet available in the group campsite would be a porta-potty and my thought about whipping out of my car once or twice during the night for that necessary bathroom call, required plan B.  Plan B turned out to be a little toilet seat and plastic bag and some Gel to harden the liquid.  But where could I put it?  Certainly not right outside my car.  So, of course, that necessitated a tent.  I decided to get a tent that would connect to my car.  This would give me a mobile bedroom and an accompanying living room complete with lots of lanterns, a table and stool and my darling little toilet seat.  !  I forgot to mention the two great tables I bought, plus a camping chair.

I was ready!  I had tried out my tent on my driveway and it worked pretty well.  Thanks to Dolores and Saul, I was able to get it back into its carrier.  The stove worked.  The mattress worked.  I was off.

The idea was to spend three nights in a group campsite at Sunset Bay State Park with about 25 people.  I pulled out my tent, and of course, immediately got offers of help so the tent went up quite easily.  Unfortunately, my car was not quite as level as the tent.  And my sleeping bag was slippery, so I had to be careful not to fall out of the car onto the tent floor.  But I managed it.

The experience was great for the first two nights.  Lots of stories around the campfire.  A first night dinner with Asifa and David with wine and a table cloth. A great hike along the ocean.  I got a chance to meet new people and I learned about the value of a sleeping bag liner, which I bought for the next trip. And when my car battery died from not turning the car off after inflating the mattress, I learned that there is this marvelous gadget that is a battery generator with car leads that started my car without a hitch.  I now have one of those.

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The third day, I disconnected from my tent to enjoy the pleasures of Coos Bay and surroundings. When I returned and tried to reconnect to my tent, I had a rather major problem.  My car started moving (I did something.  Still not sure what) and it began slipping backwards into the tent.  It got about one third of the way through the tent before I was able to stop it.  So it broke some poles and tore about a two foot gash in the side of the tent facing the car.  Luckily, some people had good tape and I was good to go for the rest of the night, except…

It was threatening rain.  The people in tents had mostly decided to leave before I got back from Coos Bay.  I was seriously depressed about what I had done to the tent.  So, the best way to handle depression in those instances is to book a room at the 7 Feathers casino and two hours later (with lots of help from Asifa to get my tent folded and back in the car) I was in a beautiful room with a luxurious bed.  I won $35 and had prime rib.  It was the perfect ending to a great camping trip.

OK— Was I finished with camping?  Heck no.  I had already booked two nights at Joseph Stewart State Park.  The real test was doing it alone.  Luckily, Jane St Claire wanted to join in, so Jane (who has been camping for fifty years in tents, trailers and now in a fully outfitted Honda Element) and my dog, Starr and I headed off for our next camping adventure.

I was so happy that Jane was there because it took an hour to put the tent up and another hour or so to take the tent down with the both of us trying our best.  I don’t know whether the problem was with the tent itself or the damage it had sustained, but the campground had a trash compactor, and my tent was  happily disposed of before we left

Did that dampen my camping spirit?  Not at all.  We hiked. Met delightful people.  We set up our appetizer table overlooking the lake and watched the stars come up as we drank “on the rocks” and wine.  It was heavenly except for the tent and sleeping in the car.  I decided I didn’t like crawling into my bed several times a night.

So now I have a new tent that is 9’ by 11’ that does not attach to the car. I set this up on the driveway and put it up by myself in about 17 minutes, which isn’t too bad for the first time.  And I bought an air mattress that self inflates to a height of 20 inches. I slept on that one night at home while watching Criminal Minds.  I can hardly wait to go camping again.

Things that I learned:

First of all, I love my toilet and all the rest of my gadgets.  I am totally set for the next trip because all my needs are in two plastic bins and the bags for the tent, mattress, tables, chairs and my little potty.

Most of my friends think I am nuts.  I heard lots of comments about a nice bed and warm shower in a luxury hotel as a better option.  I may join them after next season.  But for now, I can hardly wait to put up my tent and get started again.  Starr agrees.