LONGEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE
On the subject of bags some of you might get a kick out of this; When I lived and worked at Mt. Rainier National Park (Washington) I did a pretty extensive array of outdoor activities, hiking, a lot of snowshoeing etc. I lived there 3 years and had housing and meals provided............now THAT'S a base camp. As a result I had little or no actual camping experience. Clever me I decide to hike into a remote off-trail valley and spend the night and hike back out the next day. It was in the fall and it gets dark pretty early. The high country is nice in the day but gets downright freezin at night. Well, about 6 pm I turn in for the night, it being dark and I'm tired and all.


Trouble was, all I had was a cheap little bag but worst of all I had NO mat of any kind. I thought I was tough but old mother nature humbled me plenty that L-O-N-G night. Freezing and uncomfortable I stuck my face in my bag and almost done myself in. I awoke in a panic and struggling to try and get out of my bag. I had to restrain myself to stay put or sacrifice what tiny bit of warmth I had. Talk about a headache!! Tough climb out the next day with my head splitting. Oh man!!