Solo at Tahoe

This weekend I had the pleasure of camping at William Kent Campground. I'd felt cooped up for a long while, and I needed to clear my head. Taylor and I had originally planned on going together, but we thought it would be more ideal for me to try camping by myself for the first time. We've been going consistently in the cooler months, and I felt more and more confident every time. Was I still nervous? You betcha.

After a day of packing and cooking (with Taylor helping me prep...), I was off. While it usually takes ~3.75 hours to get to Tahoe from our home, it's closer to ~4.25 hours with the Tesla, and in real conditions 4.5-5.5 hours with traffic (if not worse—thanks, Sacramento). I left at a cool 09:30 to arrive by 15:00, making an additional pit stop at a clothing store because my dumbass didn't pack pants. To Tahoe.

I got checked in, had my usual lunch sandwich (and cucumbers with a dab of salt), and then it was onto something much more difficult than driving 4.5 hours: pitching the tent solo. After many failed attempts and several swear words in several languages, it was a beauty. I got the rest of my site set up, and it too was a beauty.

Besides sandwiches, I finally got the pleasure of cooking over the fire with a cast iron skillet—and I must say, this is living. My only complaint about camping was that I eat slow and the food gets cold fast. I don't mind sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag, I don't mind the lack of showers, I don't even mind the bugs or bears. But hot food is a necessity. I made a big pot of noodles with some spaghetti sauce (thanks Claude the LLM for the recipe and Luigi the human for the hint to use carrots), and created a diabolically good concoction. And it stayed warm for like 30 minutes while I ate in the majesty of nature's grace. For breakfast, I threw eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast into a skillet and called it good (it was good).

While I was only spending Friday through Sunday, I wanted to make the most of it. I went to bed early for myself (midnight) and woke up quite early (09:00) to get an early rise on the day. I never really touch my phone unless it's for my camera during camping, and this was much of the same. I solely use my Kobo e-reader—this time it was Dragon Ball manga and Game of Thrones: Clash of Kings.

I also managed to get a hike in on the Stanford Rock Trail. Again, my dumbass didn't realize that hiking a bike "rock trail" was going to be rough, but my feet were raw by the time I got back to my site. But I did manage a modest:

• 3h 35m
• 13.42km (8.3mi)
• 1,755 calories
• 1,014ft elevation gain (309m)
  • 331 flight of stairs equivalent

On Sunday, I had to depart. After one last 1,000-calorie cast iron breakfast and some time of silence, I was back on the road for home. It's interesting how 70 hours of camping can give you the same sad feelings of leaving as a whole week or two-week vacation. Maybe that's the thing about nature—it doesn't count time in hours or days, but in moments where your mind finally stops racing and you remember what quiet actually sounds like.

📸 Photos are courtesy of iPhone Air.