Summertime Camping Firsts

One of my last adventures of the summer was a planned first, but its experience contained an amazing number of firsts I hadn’t been counting on…

I had a tent that I’d never even opened—and so invited a female friend of mine—whom I knew loved camping—to pick out a spot for us to go ‘roughing it’ for a few days. The obvious firsts were to use the brand new tent, the other first was to go camping with a girl.

Here’s a list of unforeseen other firsts that occurred during our 3 days and nights:

• First time to use my mini cooper on a camping trip: amazing just how much stuff could fit!
• First time to visit Donner Lake; got to read detailed information about the infamous Donner Party. Still don’t understand why they get a place named after them, damn cannibals.
• First time to play scrabble whilst camping—I lost by more than 100 points, hah.

• Being 5 minutes away from a supermarket, a peculiar first—closer than where I live. I had no idea that we’d be so close to a town (Truckee). Within that first for the supermarket comes yet another first: Because of all the customers (who were also ‘roughing it’?), I decided to use the self-check out lane, even though I wasn’t quite sure of the process, I thought it would be quicker. People were piling up behind me, so there was a bit of pressure. When I couldn’t figure out how to pay for some veggies, a clerk came over to help me, told me how to slide my ‘safeway’ card and use my own bag. After all that fluster, as I was heading away from the till, my friend asked me if I’d gotten a receipt. Nope, I told her: I didn’t even PAY for the groceries. Guess that clerk was also flustered. What a weird first.
• First time to visit the town of Truckee—cool town;

• first time to see the Truckee River; took a v. short walk and stuck feet in the clear water

• first time to see Squaw Valley; took a few photographs

• first time for me to set up the coleman camp stove. Did not really know how to get the propane cylinder attached, and it turned out that I put it on upside down. Not a good idea: the propane leaked and a fire started, which burned a hole in my friend’s plastic table cloth. That was probably a first for her as well.
• first time to have pancakes for breakfast whilst camping
• first time to have oatmeal for breakfast whilst camping
• first time to camp next to a group of 60 religious teenagers + their counsellors.