I wish I knew where to start on this report. I can’t even find the right words to describe to all of you how absolutely horrible this trip was.
First of all, I’m fairly certain that no one is reading this blog, because I would like to think that someone would have stopped me from going on this god awful trip in the first place. I thought that the hardest item on my list would be skydiving, but that only reinforces my stupidity when it comes to this camping trip. Luckily, I had two friends with me who are either the best friends on earth, or equally stupid.
Kevin, Mike B and I set off for a camping adventure this past Saturday. We started off in Sandbridge, VA to hike our way through Back Bay Wildlife Refuge and into False Cape State Park, where we would be camping for the night, sans supplies. We each had a backpack filled with water, a few protein bars, and a knife. Oh, and sunscreen and bug spray, which are required (you’ll understand why shortly) by the park rangers. That was it for supplies: no tent, no sleeping bags. We were ‘roughing it’ in every sense of the expression.
The hike through the wildlife refuge is 6.2 miles. It’s beautiful, but there was not a scrap of shade to be found. We were being roasted by the sun. There was a fairly consistent breeze being that close to the coast, but when the air was still it felt so heavy it could choke us. There were swarms, I mean entire herds, of horseflies. You could not walk two feet with smacking into them. It would have been pretty had we been standing from a distance. We also saw several different types of birds and a few snakes (ahhhhh!), and the landscape was breathtaking. Or maybe we just couldn’t catch our breath because of the intense heat. We did a poor job of planning this trip, which I take full responsibility for. Earlier in the week, I checked the weather and saw the possibility of isolated thunderstorms and hoped it wouldn’t rain on us. By the time we got to our campsite, I was praying it would rain.
After the first 6.2 miles, we were through the refuge and into False Cape State park. We walked another mile to the Visitor’s center, and found it was air conditioned!! They also had drinking water for us to fill up our bottles. We took a 20 minute break, and then continued on the additional 3 miles to our campsite. By this time I had a raging headache. I was so hot, but the new water was so thick with chemicals and chlorine it made me sick. We had to take several breaks along the way, and I just kept repeating “Don’t give up” in my head. We finally made it to the campsite and I think all of us had a moment of “now what” as we pulled off our packs and sat down at the picnic table. I stretched out in the sand and went to sleep. The boys hiked the last tenth of a mile to the beach.
As I lay in our campsite I thought I might die. My head hurt so badly and I could feel that I was dehydrated, but the more water I drank, the more nauseous I felt. I knew I was suffering from heat exhaustion, but what could I do? There was no way I was able to turn around and hike the 9 miles back to the car. I laid there and fell asleep again, hoping it would pass. I woke up about 20 minutes later and felt worse. Of the 12 campsites at this park, all had been reserved for the weekend. Due to the heat, only two parties actually made it out, and the other happened to be camped right across from us. They walked over and told us that somehow, someway, they were getting out of there—and asked if we wanted to join them. I thought about it, and being with two stubborn Irish boys, I realized if I didn’t throw in the towel, they never would… no matter how bad they felt. I thought about how awful I felt, and considered pushing through anyway. And then I thought, I’m a 29 year old woman suffering from heat exhaustion and laying in the sand with ants, ticks, and flies all over me… and for what, just to prove I can? I told them I was sick and I wanted to leave too. Another few hours went by and finally the park rangers came to pick us up. They told us the heat index was over 110 degrees, and it probably wasn’t safe for us to stay out there.
So you can count this as a success or a failure. Personally I count it as a success, and it’s my blog, so mine is the only vote that matters. I made it through the hike to the campsite even though I wanted to give up most of the time. And although you may not be thinking that’s any great accomplishment, I’m telling you-- you weren’t there, it was excruciating. It makes my upcoming all-inclusive trip to Cancun look that much better.
11 down; 19 to go
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