2003 Campout
Richard Triplett
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Webmaster's summary of the 4th
of July campout: We (meaning the family and myself) pulled into
the Holy Ghost campground around late afternoon on Friday to find
only one other group had beat us to the event. Tom McConnell, from
Albuquerque, had pulled in the night before and was all settled
in. It was refreshing to see this part of the state had been receiving
at least a small amount of moisture, as evidenced by the tall grass,
occasionally driving though mud, and the FLIES. At least they weren't
the biting kind of fly. Being one of the first to the campground
meant we had first choice of tent location. After finding a nice
shady spot not too close to the creek (flowing water + a two year
old = potential disaster) we set up camp. Not too long later, Marcelo
came rolling in. He was traveling in style, with a nice pop-up trailer.
John Stewart arrived not too much later, followed by Mike Hall.
This was to be the group for Friday night, and we all settled in
and had some quality beer in hand long before the sun went down.
John brought several flip-top bottles of homebrew, including a porter,
dubbel, irish ale and cider. Mike Hall brought some old ale from
our '02 picnic, some anchor steam clone (which we did a side-by-side
of, with many preferring Mikes example to the real thing!) and mead.
Marcelo brough a porter and mead, amoung others.I brought some IPA,
light abbey ale, and an over-carbonated watermelon beer from 2001.
Tom had some tasty examples of craft beer from the Redhook brewery.
Even with all this beer, the group managed not too go too crazy.
This was proved by getting to bed relatively early (midnight-ish)
and being up by 8ish. In regard to this- Note to self: Bring plenty
of blankets for sleeping: it gets dang cold at night! We had brought
a couple blankets and I was still shivering.
Saturday morning greeted us
with warm rays of sunshine and very comfortable temperatures. After
a hearty breakfast, everyone split up to hike or rest. The exercise
ranged from turning pages of books to a short hike to a 11 mile
round-trip trek to Stewart Lake. Mike and I opted for the latter
option. Mike brough along his GPS to track our progress and it came
up with some interesting data: We started at an elevation of approximately
8200 feet and climbed to a peak of around 10,200 feet. Much of this
elevation change was done in a mile or so of hiking. Talk about
STEEP! Mother nature went easy on us, though. During the worst of
the climb, a storm came though that gave us a long-lasting light
drizzle. Not enough to soak you, just enough to keep cool. Once
it leveled off, the system was past us and it was blue skys all
the way to the lake. The scenery was awe-inspiring and it wasn't
TOO grueling of a hike. All in all, very much worth it.
Within seconds of returning
to the camp, the beer was immediately dispensed and we rested for
a bit. The rest didn't last too long though, as it was time to cook
for the potluck. Several other people showed up while we were hiking
and there was horseshoes and other games going on. At 7pm, the potluck
started and we had quite a spread. Everything from chile to corn
chowder to spaggheti to grilled chicken and other meat to squash
soup and watermelon and doughnut holes for dessert were enjoyed.
I'd be quite shocked if anyone didn't walk away stuffed from all
the amazing food.
Shortly after dinner, we packed
up and were out just before it got dark. Two days and one night
with a two year old is plenty for our first time camping. I'm sure
the festivities went on tough Saturday night and Sunday. It was
a memorable experience, and I look forward to the 2004 campout.
