Have you ever gone camping next to snow?



There's something about cold weather camping that makes me feel so much more alive than other temperatures.

Tony had never gone backpacking and was extremely excited for this opportunity. The only problem was we didn't know where we were going. Every hiking opportunity we found was multiple days and some were even closed.

We drove around for hours trying to find a place that wasn't a multiple day hike because of our time crunch. Having already been on our road trip for almost a week; we had been expected to meet up with some new friends in another state in just a few days.

As we drove around NE Colorado and it continued to get darker, we finally decided to just try our luck at a camping site in Southern Colorado and not a hiking trail. Well it turns out we had to hike down to get there due to the gate being closed. Seeing as how I'm not sure what we did was technically legal at that time. I will not be disclosing the location.

We got our bags packed, and me being who I am, hadn't actually prepared to be backpacking. I had a hydro pack and that was all. Tony was packed to the brim and I felt as though I was very ill prepared.

Tony wanted real food and NEEDED ice. In my lifetime, never have I met someone that needed ice so bad he walked 2 miles down a mountain with it. We actually ended up bringing way more than necessary and had to hike with bulky bags in my hands and Tony had not just a well packed backpack, but also a handful of things as well. (Tony overpacked)

Back when I was in the SCA (society for creative anachronism) we used to have an unofficial event every February, however it was at a campsite that we could drive up to and we had buildings we could go into to warm up if it had gotten too cold. My ex husband and I would try fall camping as well in which it would get very cold and it was slightly different but we also had a vehicle to warm up in if things got too bad...This was different. It was miles from where we had parked and at the bottom of a mountain near a riverbed.

As soon as we got to the river we found a spot and went to set up the camp. Tony and I collected rocks all around the site for a makeshift fire pit and we collected fallen twigs and branches.

He went to make a fire as I set up the tent and got out the sleeping bags. After discussing how the spot that we had chosen would be perfect for bears to catch fish, maybe I have a thing for trying to scare people slightly. Tony made dinner in a cast iron skillet (yes, we walked down with a cast iron).

We watched the sun set through the trees and just talked about how secluded it was, how the sound of the water in the creek bed was nice and how beautiful the mountain peaks were. I caught myself singing around the campfire as we had both not charged our phones and the only electrical device we had was my kindle.



The Next Morning
That night it got extremely cold. So cold that the ice Tony had forced us to bring,was left outside and it was still there in the morning. There was frost covering the backpack that we had left outside.



Tony made "the most important fire of his life", as he called it and we hung around for breakfast. Honestly, taking down camp was fairly easy as was the hike back up the mountain. While leaving however someone had forgotten his wallet and had to make that trip twice. He made it on his own as I sat and let my phone charge and talked to a few hikers who had brought the dogs out for some roaming.

While I was looking back on our adventure of the day, I realized that it's not just the cold weather that makes me feel alive. It's the trees, the scenery, watching the deer scampering up the mountains. Those of us who chose to include mother nature in our lives I think tend to appreciate it more.



My advice to you is this: Go outside.

It's easy to read an article online and wish you could be there. You can. It doesn't have to be a mountain. It can be a park, it could be your neighborhood. Dogs, squirrels, the sound of children at play. Remember that life is all around you and you're a part of it.

This world is yours too and there are many adventures waiting for you.