A ghost in our backyard?
April 5, 2021 - Monday morning
32 degrees/partly cloudy/calm winds
Pentoga Road
Naw, that's me adjusting my sleeping gear in the tent after dark last night. Sargie snapped the picture from inside the house. The tent weighs only a pound and a half and with thin walls, it's obvious that when a light is shining on the inside, the occupant is on display.
More about the tent further down.
Let's see. A blast from the past! Luke was going through some old pictures and sent this one. Taken during our trapping days in northern Maine, to keep the boys, including me, out of trouble, if we weren't fishing, hunting, or putting up maple syrup, we were trapping.
Luke, Andy, and the skinny young guy on the right is me.
Easter Sunday was beautiful in the UP. Sargie and I upheld our yearly tradition by making a hundred mile loop through the UP and northern Wisconsin.
We were amazed that some lakes have broken wide open.
Others are still firmly locked in ice and show only a few signs of giving into spring.
Back home, with Sargie's help, I began to set up the tent. First was to stake it in a very tight, even, rectangle.
My bride had mentioned several days ago that I needed to lengthen the height of the trekking poles that serve as the frame. At the time, I thought I knew better and in the end, was dissatisfied with the outcome.
I listened to her advice yesterday and as usual, she was right. The tent set up perfectly tight with no sags.
While I was unloading the backpack for a night's stay, Sargie made her way to the garden pond where she skimmed last fall's leaves and other gook from the bottom.
An absolutely perfect Easter Sunday had come to an end. I kissed Sargie goodnight and headed to the backyard. Other than her usual "I love you", I also heard something about her being grateful she'd have our full sized bed to herself.
I made several tweaks in the tent during the night. Preparing for a very cold start in northern Georgia and the Smoky Mountains next winter, I was more than eager to test the new 10 degree quilt.
Seeing that the nighttime low was to dip to the freezing mark, I purposely wore only a long sleeved t-shirt and a pair of jammie pants. For the most part, they were adequate, although towards morning, I wished I would have worn a proper base layer.
Things I learned:
I'll need something under the insulated sleeping pad to keep my underside from getting cold. For the most part, it was okay, but I could have used a bit more warmth radiated back under my body. A simple lightweight, cheapie Walmart closed foam sleeping pad ought to work nicely.
I should have worn a beanie. The quilt is simply a big, fluffy, down filled, blanket. Unlike a cold weather mummy bag, it has no hood and the biggest loss of heat is from the top of one's head. With no more hair than I have, the heat, along with what few brains remain, were pouring out last night.
Over the years, this old man's bladder has been reduced down to the size of a thimble. I'm going to have to make arrangements for some sort of a nighttime indoor outhouse as crawling from the tent two or three times in freezing temperatures is... cold.
That's a simple fix... the indoor outhouse, not the thimble sized bladder.
My inflatable pillow that weighs two ounces was totally inadequate, so much so that I took off the flannel shirt I'd been wearing and wadded it into a ball to lend more support for my head. It's back to the drawing board for the pillow.
All in all, I was well satisfied with my outdoor digs and the tent was perfect. With a few adjustments to my sleeping gear, I think I'll slumber well while on the trail next year.
There's too much to talk about concerning what lies ahead today. There are seeds to transplant, a garden to clean and make ready for the season, wood chips to get from the Yooper Brother Mark's shop, and the list goes on and on. With rain in the forecast for much of the week, I'm going to hit the ground running today.
After all, a man's work is never done.
So are the tales from Pentoga Road...
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