Car Camping S24O
I've been wanting to do a S24O this summer, but I've let the time pass me by. In June I bought 1-man Comet 1.5 tent in June and and then in July I updated my sleeping bag with a light-weight offering from Mountain Hardwear. I never bit the bullet, thought. I did a reasonable amount of research looking into legit public campgrounds in a bikeable range from the 'Ville. They're really aren't that many. S.IN has more. Our weather the past few days has been great, low 80s and low humidity. With school starting with gusto on Tuesday, so I wanted to take advantage and maybe squeeze a quickie trip in over the weekend. I was discussing the option with the good wife and 'L' brightened up. He wanted to go too. And the good wife thought it as a possibility. 'Z', being 12. and too cool, didn't have an opinion, of course. So, the bike S24O became a potential car-camping S24O. And that's great. Family time comes first, even for a greedy, selfish cyclist like myself.
I had already been looking at the possibility of bike camping at Camp Horine, which is part of Jefferson Co. Memorial Forest (the largest urban blah blah). It's an old boy scout camp that has been turned into a campground/conference center/team building center. A family tent spot costs $15/night, which is a bit steep, but each spot has a fire pit, trashcan and picnic table, and there are port-a-pots and a water pump nearby. As a family we don't actually camp at all, save using the tent in a few instances over the years at my parents' old farm. This time, the schedule worked out perfectly took multiple advantages. Firstly, we had a family reunion to attend in Bullitt Co. nearby. This is my mom's extended batch of aunts and uncles and distant cousins. It's one of those where, although I wouldn't call it "fun", you nonetheless have to put in an appearance to placate moms and grandfathers and such. We went there first, from 3-7. The wife and I caught up with closer family and the boys generally had fun on the trampoline with their cousins. With evening approaching we graciously excused ourselves and began the camping portion of the evening.
We first had to run down chocolate, marshmallows and ice (for refreshing beverages). I was going to go straight across Brooks Rd., but the metropolis of Brooks has nothing save gas stations, so we had to drive 15min south to Shepardsville to pick up our goods. The advantage of the reunion was that we didn't have to cook; we already hate the reunion pot luck fare. Camping, though, must have 'smores, so we grabbed those requirements, and ice for my personal requirement. Once there, we encountered a challenge that would ultimately be our undoing the next morning. This area is only open by permit, which is important. It's in a rural (read, redneck) portion of the Co., so there are multiple gates to keep the riff-raff out, and the campers in. We saw a worker and asked him about our permit packet. According to him, we would find it another 2m down the hill at the visitors' center for the entire Forest. This gave him a chance to get our firewood ($10 for a 1/3 rick). He let us through 1 gate, but the next was locked up tight. He had stated that it would be open. I saw him take a cut-through on his 'gator, so I followed and fit through the snug gape in the brush to the road, SNUG being the key word there. Once there at #5 we got set up.
From the gravel road. That's the Kelty 3-4 person in front of the truck, along with the monster red tub that held the junk for the afternoon.
The good wife enjoys her modern amenities, but she also has more camp experience than I. I had the task of the tents, she of the campfire. I was quite glad to have already worked with the 3-4 tent several times, but this time I was completely sober. The previous times it was usually at the end of an evening at a farm party, so the 12-pack or so I had consumed didn't lend itself to tent maintenance. Campfire girl got her fire started faster than I had either of the tents up. Because of the clement conditions, I didn't use a fly on either tent.
$10 per 1/3 rick. There was some wood at the site, we later found. Henceforth, I now have 1/3 rick of wood in the back of the truck. We'll use it on the next trip later this fall.
3-4 person tent with 2 monkeys. It ended up holding 3 persons, 2 boys and a wife (she's in "action mode" here). We could've squished in there, but it was nice to have more space.
1-person Comet 1.5
Campfire girl's excellent 'fogata'. We only needed it for 'smores, but next time we'll go whole hog on a real meal.
Obviously, fire at night.
Moon
(You can see craters if you try. It's a pretty clear image)
Aside from our campfire and 'smores activities, we also plan the first round of a hand-and-foot game on the picnic table. We had to use 2 of the flashlights to finish up. If we go again, we might have to buy a lantern for such activities. 'L' won, as he often does. Cardshark! After cards and food we settled down to enjoy the fire. As it approached 10.30, 'L' was getting sleepy, so he, his brother and mom settled down to read while I also settled into the Comet to read as well. The tent wasn't too terribly big, but it provided me enough room to read, and that's about all you need. The pad and bag fit in fine. I'm glad I'm not 6'3". At only 5'7" I felt I had about the right amount of room. We all read for 30min or so and then lights out, under the stars.
MGNS and I both woke up about 4.30. It sounded like rain, but none seemed to be dropping. The wind had picked up in the middle of the night, and I assume it was dropping leaves or branches or something. We were safe and comfy below the canopy. The boys stayed asleep the whole night, for the most part. I woke up at 7.00 and read a bit before getting up. I took a very brief walk on one of the trails. Horine Reservation has more than 6m of trails. You could work up a good appetite taking a big walk before settling down. This trip the plan was to leave by 9.00 so the fam could attend church. We all got up about 8.30 and got working. My Comet came down quite easily, and the Kelty even easier. I stacked the wood in the truck while MGNS bagged up the other stuff.
3 bugs in a rug.
path in early morning
coming back the old road
I looked at my watch when the truck was packed: 8.59 perfect. We headed out. The trip took a brief-but-dark turn from here. Remember the snug portion? When I was exiting the same way we all heard a big "crack!". I got out to find that a log or something had hit the base of the truck body just behind the rear door and in front of the wheel well. It's a big, nasty dent, with damage to the side panel and panel behind the rear door. I don't want to begin thinking of the cost to repair it. It's all cosmetic, hurting neither the door nor the rear wheel, so I have a feeling it'll be awhile. I was just thinking of saving some $$ for a Big Dummy, but now that will have to wait a while. Or the hell with it! It's just a car, and it runs. It was a bummer way to end our little CCS24O, but the rest was great, and I don't think it'll be our last.
I had already been looking at the possibility of bike camping at Camp Horine, which is part of Jefferson Co. Memorial Forest (the largest urban blah blah). It's an old boy scout camp that has been turned into a campground/conference center/team building center. A family tent spot costs $15/night, which is a bit steep, but each spot has a fire pit, trashcan and picnic table, and there are port-a-pots and a water pump nearby. As a family we don't actually camp at all, save using the tent in a few instances over the years at my parents' old farm. This time, the schedule worked out perfectly took multiple advantages. Firstly, we had a family reunion to attend in Bullitt Co. nearby. This is my mom's extended batch of aunts and uncles and distant cousins. It's one of those where, although I wouldn't call it "fun", you nonetheless have to put in an appearance to placate moms and grandfathers and such. We went there first, from 3-7. The wife and I caught up with closer family and the boys generally had fun on the trampoline with their cousins. With evening approaching we graciously excused ourselves and began the camping portion of the evening.
We first had to run down chocolate, marshmallows and ice (for refreshing beverages). I was going to go straight across Brooks Rd., but the metropolis of Brooks has nothing save gas stations, so we had to drive 15min south to Shepardsville to pick up our goods. The advantage of the reunion was that we didn't have to cook; we already hate the reunion pot luck fare. Camping, though, must have 'smores, so we grabbed those requirements, and ice for my personal requirement. Once there, we encountered a challenge that would ultimately be our undoing the next morning. This area is only open by permit, which is important. It's in a rural (read, redneck) portion of the Co., so there are multiple gates to keep the riff-raff out, and the campers in. We saw a worker and asked him about our permit packet. According to him, we would find it another 2m down the hill at the visitors' center for the entire Forest. This gave him a chance to get our firewood ($10 for a 1/3 rick). He let us through 1 gate, but the next was locked up tight. He had stated that it would be open. I saw him take a cut-through on his 'gator, so I followed and fit through the snug gape in the brush to the road, SNUG being the key word there. Once there at #5 we got set up.
From the gravel road. That's the Kelty 3-4 person in front of the truck, along with the monster red tub that held the junk for the afternoon.The good wife enjoys her modern amenities, but she also has more camp experience than I. I had the task of the tents, she of the campfire. I was quite glad to have already worked with the 3-4 tent several times, but this time I was completely sober. The previous times it was usually at the end of an evening at a farm party, so the 12-pack or so I had consumed didn't lend itself to tent maintenance. Campfire girl got her fire started faster than I had either of the tents up. Because of the clement conditions, I didn't use a fly on either tent.
$10 per 1/3 rick. There was some wood at the site, we later found. Henceforth, I now have 1/3 rick of wood in the back of the truck. We'll use it on the next trip later this fall.
3-4 person tent with 2 monkeys. It ended up holding 3 persons, 2 boys and a wife (she's in "action mode" here). We could've squished in there, but it was nice to have more space.
1-person Comet 1.5After the big tent I set about putting up the new Comet. I didn't mind this as a family trip b/c it gave me the opportunity to try the new tent and bag out before I leave on a solo trip. The set-up was easy. It's not entirely freestanding. The 2 poles give it some form, and staking the ends keeps it all taut and up. I didn't drive the stakes in the ground much at all, but it stayed nice and stable throughout the night. It also has nice screening, so in the cool night I didn't need the fly. Great outdoor sleeping.
Campfire girl's excellent 'fogata'. We only needed it for 'smores, but next time we'll go whole hog on a real meal.
Obviously, fire at night.
Moon(You can see craters if you try. It's a pretty clear image)
Aside from our campfire and 'smores activities, we also plan the first round of a hand-and-foot game on the picnic table. We had to use 2 of the flashlights to finish up. If we go again, we might have to buy a lantern for such activities. 'L' won, as he often does. Cardshark! After cards and food we settled down to enjoy the fire. As it approached 10.30, 'L' was getting sleepy, so he, his brother and mom settled down to read while I also settled into the Comet to read as well. The tent wasn't too terribly big, but it provided me enough room to read, and that's about all you need. The pad and bag fit in fine. I'm glad I'm not 6'3". At only 5'7" I felt I had about the right amount of room. We all read for 30min or so and then lights out, under the stars.
MGNS and I both woke up about 4.30. It sounded like rain, but none seemed to be dropping. The wind had picked up in the middle of the night, and I assume it was dropping leaves or branches or something. We were safe and comfy below the canopy. The boys stayed asleep the whole night, for the most part. I woke up at 7.00 and read a bit before getting up. I took a very brief walk on one of the trails. Horine Reservation has more than 6m of trails. You could work up a good appetite taking a big walk before settling down. This trip the plan was to leave by 9.00 so the fam could attend church. We all got up about 8.30 and got working. My Comet came down quite easily, and the Kelty even easier. I stacked the wood in the truck while MGNS bagged up the other stuff.
3 bugs in a rug.
path in early morning
coming back the old roadI looked at my watch when the truck was packed: 8.59 perfect. We headed out. The trip took a brief-but-dark turn from here. Remember the snug portion? When I was exiting the same way we all heard a big "crack!". I got out to find that a log or something had hit the base of the truck body just behind the rear door and in front of the wheel well. It's a big, nasty dent, with damage to the side panel and panel behind the rear door. I don't want to begin thinking of the cost to repair it. It's all cosmetic, hurting neither the door nor the rear wheel, so I have a feeling it'll be awhile. I was just thinking of saving some $$ for a Big Dummy, but now that will have to wait a while. Or the hell with it! It's just a car, and it runs. It was a bummer way to end our little CCS24O, but the rest was great, and I don't think it'll be our last.
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