She was the perfect bait to catch this squirrelly woman, so of course I’ve named her Squirrel Bait!
I bought her specifically for adventure and what better one that spending the New Year transition breaking her in camping. What could possibly go wrong?
Strike 1: I had a rough idea of heading to Joshua Tree, but between a late start (4pm) , traffic, and not knowing where I was going, I shifted gears at the last minute and headed for familiar territory… Chilao Campground up in Angeles Forest. My first time ever driving up to snow country (of course, without chains on hand), and while the roads were perfectly clear and safe, all the runoff water warned me that they would be icy and slippery after dark. When I reached Chilao the sun was setting aaaaand… the campground was closed thanks to what looked (to my inexperienced eyes) like 2 ft snow base. Doh! (Note to self, check campground status ahead of time.)
Strike 2: I’d also seen a bunch of private campsites on Hipcamp out of Palmdale, so instead of heading back down the mountain I headed for the other side. I was sure I’d find someplace on my way over… nope. When I finally reached reception, I googled campgrounds and headed for the closest. That led me on 7 miles of fabulous single track dirt roads (Squirrel performed perfectly, btw) into the back country… only to find the place was long closed. There was no boondocking out there either, thanks to all the private properties. So, I doubled back to the next two campgrounds along yet another dirt road. (Google maps are awesome, but nothing warned of the dirt roads, so I’m sure glad I wasn’t driving the Prius.) Both wanted $40-$45 to just park overnight… Seriously. Who would pay that?? Certainly not me!
Strike 3: Knowing I couldn’t drive around all night, I pointed my car in the general direction of home, somewhere along Soledad Canyon Road, keeping an eye out for dirt side roads where I could stay without being harassed or rousted. About 8pm I passed one that got my attention, so I doubled back and WOW! Purely by God’s Grace I’d stumbled into the perfect location. A closed and empty day-camp site with room for only 2-3 cars. I settled in, set up camp in mere minutes just like I’d planned and got ready to make food. Only to find that NONE of my fire starter material was packed in its usual place. I’d gone camping without fire… one of the 10 Essentials! 😱 I was appalled and dismayed. No way I could stay without hot food and drink; it was 8:30 and already down to the high 30’s. Instead of panicking, I prayed, got quiet and thought. DOH! My jetboil has an automatic spark starter (that I never used because I was scared of it.) So I said another quick prayer and tried it, aaaand… it worked perfectly and continued to all evening and morning. The adventure was saved, purely thanks to God’s Grace!
So what lesson do I take in to 2020… First, that I’m really not as brave as I like to think. I was scared of the possibility of driving on ice, I was scared of encountering bad people, I was scared that the strewn trash in the campground was from bears, heck, I was even scared of my own jetboil. But I didn’t let any of these fears stop me, because I do know that God is always with me and come what may, He’s in charge. I trust that, so I keep going forward, through the fear… into the next adventure.
They say that women come in to their own in their 60’s because they let go of all the baggage of their youth, all the regrets, have to’s, opinions, and naysayers. That sure feels right in my case so, bring on the Roaring 20’s, they are going to be epic!
