Hike4Life recently went on a Camping trip to Wompatuck State Park. 4000 acres of protected woodlands full of hiking trails, wildlife and 262 campsites to accommodate a multitude of people. We started early, shopping the night before and shutting Wal-Mart down. We agreed to pack the pre-dawn hours to save us time in the morning. Hearing rain outside was not what I wanted to hear but, there it was. Not deterred at all, got up and got out and got ready for my day-overnight camping trip!
Once we headed out, the elusive Sun peeked through the clouds here and there, daring us to still make the trip. The Park was only 35 minutes from the city and the ride there was uneventful…Until we got to the entrance. A passenger of mine, who will go unnamed in this blog, got out of the car to help register us, only to get back in with a hitchhiker; a 2 inch grasshopper stuck to her leg! She exploded out of the car and was screaming as if there was a bear in the car with us. We still don’t know how she jumped out of the car so fast but, she surely scared the bug away and we hadn’t event gotten to the campground yet. As we drove to our site, I kept thinking about the weather. It was dreary and over cast but we were there and intent on enjoying ourselves. Unpacking the truck, setting up gear and finally lighting a fire was what I wanted to do the most and getting the wood to burn was not much of a challenge with the lighter fluid we brought along for the grill. (Which I will leave behind next time)
Once we had that going we set up our tents. It was a lot easier than they made it look on TV in the olden days. A slip of the pole here and there and up the tent goes. Our sleeping bags were all that kept us from the cold damp moss we placed our tents over in hopes it would give us some cushion. As the day progressed, the rest of our entourage arrived and started setting up their areas. One of our new members went all out and came with a huge village sized tent/palace/coliseum for campers! Then our resident camper arrived, set up his area and the fun began.
What do you do when you’re camping in the woods and you don’t have access to TV, you have a paint fight! Some of the kids that came along smeared themselves with blue, red and green paints and were covered from head to toe, luckily our camp site was near the showers to wash it all off.
Some of the other kids ran around, happily unplugged from the city, joyously enjoying the environment, splashing in puddles, running in mud and just being kids. After everyone cleaned up, it was time to eat. We had a plethora (a ton) of food: Hamburgers, hot dogs, steak, chicken, salmon, lobster, mac & cheese, rice and salad. You may say, what type of camping was that with all of that delicious goodness? I was told it’s called “Glamping”, glamorous-camping for the, “oh so fabulous” ladies that came on this trip.
As the night encroached and the skies darkened, our fires started to get the reddish orange glow against the darkening background. S’mores were up for dessert and at each of our sites we were ready. Some laid the graham cracker and chocolate out and toasted the marshmallows to feed many waiting little hands and fingers, some took the old fashioned route, roast the marshmallows and slide the hot sticky treat from the stick with the graham cracker and chocolate, all I can say is YUM. What a way to end the long day our first day camping…err Glamping (smh)
Once in our spacious [sic] tents, we watched the dwindling fire as it slowly left us, leaving our quartet in excellent darkness. The many lanterns from our glam-camp were far away enough to not disturb our side. We had the most tree cover and it was pitch black when the lights went out. That was before the spider incident in my tent. A three inch wide daddy-long leg spider crept in somehow and would meet its fate but not before one of the occupants, unzipped her way out of the tent and ran into the night screaming. (Noticing a trend here, someone doesn’t care for bugs) How she got out of the tent, I don’t know but she did. After that spider, there was another one but this time, she got the courage to smash it only to leave the dangling twitching carcass hovering over my head (gross) but it didn’t bother me, I was tired and ready to sleep.
After a couple of hours of light sleep, a noise from outside the tent woke me. I was already on guard, in protect mode and lo and behold a coyote was making its way around our camping area looking for food. I flashed my light at it and it ran away. It was my fault to leave trash by the table but that’s not the point, the point is….Okay….so it was my first time camping; now I know better for next time.
Oh did I tell you about the ladies that never slept. Well, let’s just say they weren’t loud it was “just too quiet”, LOL.
After tossing and turning on top of my sleeping bag all night, the morning birds serenaded the campgrounds! They sure are a lot louder in the morning when you’re actually in the woods with them, they might as well had been in the tent with us.
Breakfast time, for those that eat breakfast, was so, so awesome! Copious, lavish, plentiful and delicious are the only words I can use to describe our A.M. feast. Pancakes? Who has pancakes in the woods, WE DID! Pancakes and turkey sausage, potatoes and onions, steak & eggs, turkey bacon, grilled turkey meatballs, sliced oranges and TANG!!!
Overall, this trip, my first trip and the first organized Hike4Life camping trip was a huge success. 21 city peeps left the city streets and found some peace, in the deep, deep woods of Wompatuck State Park.
Great friends equal great memories. Thank you to all of you that shared this experience with Hike4Life and with me.
Things I Do Outside! 