Simplify Your Camping Experience with a Blue Mountain Tiny Trailer

Interior, Blue Mountain Appalachian Touring

Tiny trailer camper owners are usually seeking a simple, uncomplicated camping experience, and a new tiny travel trailer company, Blue Mountain Camper Co., is seeking to fulfill tiny travel trailer camping dreams. Their mission statement reads thus: "The Mission of Blue Mountain Camp Co. is to build affordable, simple-to-use, and easy-to-tow campers. There are no dealers or large manufacturing facilities, only handcrafted mini campers designed to last." 

My prior blog article on this company provided background on the company's experience--over 400 little trailers constructed since 2012 (see "Blue Mountain Camper Co. -- a New Company Old in Experience.")

This article focuses on the two tiny trailers the company is currently building, the Appalachian and the Acorn. According to the company's website, the construction of these campers include three features: rot-free composite construction, advanced insulation, and pop-out windows.

• Rot-free Composite Body: "This includes the floor, walls, and roof. No wood structure to rot or decay."
• Advanced Insulation: "All models have a spray foam insulated ceiling."
• Pop-out Windows: "All models feature awning-style windows with shades and screens. These windows are much more effective in the rain than sliding windows."

The 2025 Blue Mountain Acorn is an entry-level travel trailer, pricing beginning at $7,850 for the four-foot-tall model. A buyer can choose from a 4’ tall interior (975 lbs) or a 5’ tall interior (1,090 lbs), which immediately adds $2,085 to the price tag. Since these trailers are built to order, some of the possibilities in a tiny trailer--beyond being a "hard-sided tent"--are available upon request. The unit comes with an efficient air conditioner, and a roof rack is an optional feature. The Acorn's webpage has many more exterior and interior photos available.

The Blue Mountain 2025 Appalachian Touring model, with only a five-foot-tall model, is an entirely different tiny travel trailer experience, providing many more camping amenities, including birch cabinetry, which is why the price tag begins at $13,850. It's easy to see this new company's marketing strategy--feature two models, a simple, lower-priced camper and a more luxurious model. Then potential buyers will have a vision of possibilities. "At 1,570 pounds, the Appalachian Touring is a compact camper that most mid-sized SUVs and vans can tow. It has added safety features, such as standard electric brakes." This model also includes quite a few nice "extras." 

The main thing to remember when purchasing a Blue Mountain trailer is that the ordering process is individualized. The company's webpage has a "Build and Order" tab which takes you to an order page where you can choose the trailer you want and the extras you want. In addition, you can interact with the build team to individualize the process even more. Lead time is 2-4 months prior to pick-up, depending on the model you choose and the time of year you order. 

I've written enough introduction here. If you are interested in ordering a trailer or in just browsing, go to the company's webpage, check out their deals, and feast your eyes on some beautiful tiny trailer craftsmanship. The company hasn't listed a telephone number yet, but the webpage has an email address, so individual questions can be sent and the communication process begun. There are many good tiny trailers available on the market, and Blue Mountain trailers are a welcome addition, providing even greater choice to those interested in getting out there by going small. 

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Blue Mountain Camper Co. -- a New Company Old in Experience

There's a new trailer company on the mountain!

"I just bought a 2013 Rustic Trail that is actually titled as a Leonard, because that was the trailer frame it was built on. The couple I bought it from, bought it new from 'some guy up in Pilot Mountain, that said he was starting a teardrop company.'" This quotation comes from the Facebook group Rustic Trail Teardrops and Friends, and it's the perfect introduction to this article. 

Jonathan wrote, "Might have even been the first [RTTC] Grizzly!"

In 2012, Jonathan Sechrist of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, decided to build himself a tiny trailer camper in his garage. It turned out so well he had a neighbor ask him to build another. Word got around, promises were made, and suddenly Jonathan and his family found themselves busy owners of a travel trailer company, Rustic Trail Teardrop Campers. I owned one of Jonathan's trailers--the Green Goddess, namesake of this blog. It was my wife and my introduction into camping with little travel trailers, and a fun and exciting introduction it was!

The Green Goddess at Red Rock Lake, Iowa

Jonathan headed the young company, Rustic Trail Teardrop Campers, from 2012 to 2020. The Green Goddess, a Polar Bear model, was trailer 285, or somewhere in that range. Then Jonathan sold the company in 2020, and then it sold again in 2022. RTTC is currently moving from Pilot Mountain to the Raleigh area, and Jonathan Sechrist and his family are taking the opportunity and their experience to start a new Pilot Mountain tiny travel trailer company, the Blue Mountain Camper Co.

Western North Carolina flooding victims

Before getting into more specifics about the company, first let's talk a bit about the heart-value of this North Carolina company. Recently, North Carolina experienced horrific flooding from Hurricane Helene. Blue Mountain shifted their efforts from promoting their company to gathering donations and building camper pods for families swept from their homes by the flooding. This post on Blue Mountain's Facebook group page said: "This is how some people are currently living in Western NC. Being an NC-based company, we want to help some of these victims by providing campers before really cold weather hits. For about $3,000, we can build a very basic camper and provide them with shelter from the weather. As a small startup company, we cannot afford to do this alone. We will donate the first one; would you be willing to help with more?" This campaign, although it is no longer continuing, is representative of the company's sense of community.

The Blue Mountain team

The Sechrist family and crew have the expertise that comes from having constructed more than four hundred tiny travel trailers. As the Blue Mountain Camper Co. says on their website, "Having an experienced team build your trailer is critical to reviving a quality, long-lasting tiny-camper. Blue Mountain Campers may be a new company, but the crew is far from it! Comprised of four skilled and dedicated build team members, our crew has been in the business for over 12+ years and has constructed over 400+ teardrop style campers." They go on to say that their company has "no big fancy buildings, large marketing budgets, or distant, hands-off owners. Blue Mountain Campers is a true small family-owned and operated business. When you buy from Blue Mountain, you support our families and allow us to do what we love—creating unique, long-lasting mini-campers."

Part of the Blue Mountain expertise is their goal of building tiny campers that last, "lightweight, easy-to-tow, no-fuss" campers, "simple to maintain campers that will last and last. Thanks to our all-composite rot-free body (floor, walls, roof, inside ceiling), the Appalachian is a teardrop camper alternative that is designed from the ground up to get you on the road to adventure with ease." 

On a recent Blue Mountain Camper Co. group Facebook post, Jonathan Sechrist said: "We are the original founders and builders of The Rustic Trail Teardrop Campers. We sold the company in 2020 right when Covid hit. We have started this new company because we still believe that people deserve a good product at a reasonable price! There are a lot more builders on the block now but many are very expensive. Our hopes are to see quality and affordable pricing prevail in the coming days and months ahead. We are doing everything we can to see customers satisfied and keep our campers affordable."

Jonathan is also about to release a new model tiny trailer called the "Acorn," which will come in four-feet and five-feet tall versions, with the starting weight being less than one thousand pounds. and starting at less than $10,000. The article that follows this one will focus more on what tiny trailer models Blue Mountain is offering, details and specifics. If you can't wait, though, follow the Blue Mountain Camper Co. link and do some browsing on your own! I'm still browsing and researching myself, and will post more soon.

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Camping as a Means to Get Away from It All

We are not in control--at least, not as much as we would like to be or assume we are. We have the most control over our actions and that does have an influence on consequences. Happenstance, however, well--we have to learn to go with the roll. 

 I remember once on my wife and my trip to California, I was draining our Airstream Basecamp's sewage tank during our overnighter in Kansas. The dang thing just wouldn't drain! I pulled the valve open, and there was no flow after repeated attempts. Frustrating! After checking all the connections to no avail--all was as it should be--I suddenly realized I hadn't removed the drain plugs that came with the drain hose. Nothing was flowing because the line was plugged close! Obviously, I was tired, and the result was that I had been wasting my time. 

However, sometimes events occur that are not of our own doing. I've read and written about those occurances on this blog--axle breakage, flat tires, drunken and violent neighbors, wind shear that pushes you off the road. In all those instances, the small trailer owners dealt with the situation, muddled through, and went on to camp and enjoy. 

Sometimes the unexpected is ironic and not so bad, a kind of cosmic learning moment, if we are open to possibility of life's lessons coming our way and opening our minds. My wife calls these moments "the irony of camping to get away from it all." If the world is as we are, then there is a certain irony, a certain piquant, dark humor to some happenings. 

One recently happened to Sandy's son Thomas while he was camping at Indian Lake Campground in Farmington, Iowa. Thomas's first two camping experiences using our Airstream Basecamp 16 had been with his sister's family--two adults, three dogs, and niece and nephew. He enjoyed it, and there were some days he was camping when they were gone; however, he was hankering for that experience of "getting away from it all." 

And what is the "it" that we all want to get away from? I imagine that it is somewhat different for different campers since campers are a diverse group. However, I think we can make a few generalizations. "Getting away from it all" for some means less complexity, for others fewer rules or boundaries, away from people and hustle-bustle for many, and for many others the search for silence away from the noise and buildings and back to nature. Yes, getting away from it all means in some sense removing mankind's footprint, or as Jack London wrote, iron heel. 

So Thomas elected to camp by himself at Indian Lake Campground, to spend time alone in the silence. Indian Lake Campground is an old-style campground with a rear camping area beneath the trees where you can pretty much camp where you want as long as your plug-ins can reach one of the two 30 amp stations at each end of the area. Thomas reserved a week, drove the forty miles to the campground, set up, and then kicked back to enjoy the silence. He was alone and had achieved his goal; he'd gotten away from it all, from his sister and her partner, from the kids and the dogs. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy being with everybody; he just wanted to try something new. He was living the life.

You all probably are feeling that this is the moment where the plot turns in an unexpected direction, and you're right! The fickle finger of fate reached down and blessed Thomas with a "learning moment." 

Some neighbors arrived--nice folks, no one dangerous or disgusting. However, a lot of nice folks! A rig pulled in next to Thomas, a family consisting of three dogs, eight kids, and two parents. When Sandy told me the news--that Thomas had called to tell--she was (sweetly) laughing so hard I thought she said "three dogs, eight kids, and two parakeets! The only other time in our twenty years of marriage I had seen Sandy laugh so much was the time we went to an Asian restaurant and I taken a big bite of "cucumber" that turned out to be very spicy ginger! She took one look at my face when the intensity of the ginger hit me (who had been expecting cooling cucumber), and laughed until she was gasping and teary eyed. Now, that's true love!

Thomas had his surprise and, not surprisingly, learned that things weren't all that bad. The eight kids weren't coming over to hang with him, the dogs weren't mooching food, and the adults acted like adults. Not quite the silence or open vistas he had anticipated, but camp was quiet enough, and Thomas also had some good 45-minute walks around the lake. 

Sometimes we have the good fortune of getting away from it all both mentally and physically. Sometimes we have to find that quiet place inside even though it's a bit busy outside around us. We all develop our mechanisms for finding peace, and I've found camping to be one of the more enjoyable. How about you?

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A Beginner's Experience of Camping in a Little Trailer

Rainy Day Getaway

"Look at this!" my wife's son says on Facetime from his campsite an hour's drive from our home. What we see is a plastic storage bin at the rear door of our Airstream Basecamp travel trailer, water dripping steadily from the top of the door seal. That drip-drip-drip is one more lesson in a beginning camper's experience of being on the road alone--in this case during a driving rainstorm. 

My reply via Facetime was to say, "Yes, that happened to me once. How's the bin catching the drip?" Since it was raining hard but the plastic bin was catching the drips, that was the end to my part of the crisis. The next morning I called Thomas and suggested that he should check the rubber seal. Sometimes in the heat it pulls loose when the door is opened. After checking the seal, the evidence was that there was a wrinkle in the seal, and Thomas said he would readjust the seal and wipe down the closure area. Problem solved . . . we hope.

For anyone who has gone camping, we know that things come up--and that there is a learning curve. Experience and knowledge are good things and can ease the bite when chance reaches out and nips us. I've been enjoying teaching Thomas and helping him enter his first year of small trailer camping. He's doing a great job, and interacting with him during this camping season has been a great walk down memory lane plus a good venue for us to get to know one another better.

The first step in teaching Thomas how to tiny trailer camp was towing. I already had a hitch and ball, so we mounted that on his Tacoma pick-up and then had the electric brake controller installed. In order to learn how to back the trailer, Thomas followed the same steps I had used: hitching up from my driveway and then rounding the block and backing in; then pulling out in the opposite direction, rounding the block, and backing in again, thus backing in from both directions. After about three mornings of practice, I told Thomas he was ready to hit the road. To be perfectly honest, he was a much faster learner than I was. 

Memorial Day Campsite

His first camping experience in the Basecamp was at our local county park, about five miles from our house. Thomas didn't have towing set up on his Tacoma yet, so since he was going to camp with his sister and her family, they towed his trailer out to the campground after setting theirs up. It was a great experience for Thomas, seeing how the campground is peaceful on weekdays and more lively on the weekends. He also learned a bit about planning--packing bread and mustard for sandwiches, but forgetting the other ingredients! We've all done that, right? On his current trip, he came back to visit us the next day because he had forgotten something vital--coffee! And so the beginner's experience of camping grows, becoming more adept and rich. We dream, then plan, and then learn through trial and error. 

Belva Deer Campground

On his second camping experience towing, Thomas was a little late getting ready, and his sister and company showed up early for their trip to Lake Belva Deer Park campground. They caravaned together to the campground, and the early departure meant a few items were left behind; however, he was more philosophical about his lapses, realizing that he had the basics--a place to stay, food, clothing, and good company. 

At an Older "Retro" Campground

On Thomas's current trip, he has towed the camper himself for the second time, set it up, and is enjoying his first solo camping experience. Yes, he burned his leg on our Solo stove, but he is happy, taking 45-minute walks around the lake, riding his bike, or just lying back in the chaise lounge at camp and reading. The Basecamp provides him with a self-sufficient, safe haven, a true "basecamp" for him to explore and relax. 

I am reminded of my little learning lessons, such as when a raccoon opened my ice box and stole a baked potato I was going to cook as home fries the next morning. Or the time during a big rainstorm when a limb fell and bashed a hole in my first trailer, the Green Goddess (link to article). I also remember the time my wife and I traveled to Carlsbad, California, to visit her parents. When backing the trailer into their driveway, having to be very precise so there was room for the parents' car to still get into the garage, I had to finally tell everyone, "I can get the trailer exactly where we want it. Just be patient and let me do it with twenty tries instead of two." My retired major Marine Recon father-in-law graciously listened to me, and by-golly I finally got the rig where we wanted it! I could go on and on, and I know that many reading this article could add their own stories, ones we fondly look back on now but which were a bit tense at the time they were happening. 

We learn as we go, and it has been my joy to see Thomas successfully negotiate his learning curve from beginning camper to Old Man on the Mountain. Even though there are no real mountains in Iowa, you get the idea: one more experienced camper is now enjoying the great outdoors. 

Bambi, the Apache, Mickey, Minnie, and their pet Godzilla

You may ask, What about my camping? What about our camping, my wife and I? The short answer to that is that after coming out of retirement and teaching full-time for one year, it's just plain nice to kick back at home and to spend time together with Sandy. Also, Sandy and I have a little visual aid in the house to keep our dreams alive and our curiosity lively!

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Off the Grid or Within the Grid?

For those of you who have been keeping track--probably no one has since even I haven't--it's been a year since I last posted, December 20, 2022, to be exact. I wish I could say that I've been off the grid, way out in the boondocks, and haven't had access to the internet. Yes, that's why I haven't posted! The reality, however, is that I've been within the grid, so to say, since I've been teaching school again, last school year as a substitute teacher for the spring of 2023, and this year since the fall as a full-time 4th Grade teacher. 

A little substitute teaching morphed into a one-time, one-year offer to teach in my old school district, Van Buren County Community School District, where I've been teaching in the little town of Douds until the end of the year when my position will be filled by a permanent teacher, one of several who are in the building completing their student teacher training. How do I feel about going back to full-time teaching after retiring for ten years? My answer is the same as it always has been: I'm always happy and excited on the first day of school, and I'm always happy and excited on the last day of school. 

My camping experience last year consisted of a weekend at the local county park four miles from our house. I've immersed myself completely in teaching, not trying to live two lifestyles at once, knowing that my commitment of one teaching year will end and then I can get back to a more relaxed, outdoor life. This situation is easy to accept because I am teaching a wonderful 4th Grade class this year--exceptionally kind, polite, and curious students. It's a wonderful encore for my teaching career.

Not all has been teaching, though. About eighteen months ago, my wife and I bought thirty-five rural acres in Van Buren County, around forty miles from our home, mostly wooded acreage that we've developed with some gravel, electricity and water, and a sewage storage tank for our trailer. We were considering how to add a small cabin to the land when we decided to do something we swore we'd never do--buy an "apartment on wheels." Yes, we bought a twenty-five foot Dutchment travel trailer that we had towed to the land and which now completes our small, self-contained space out in the country. On reflection, what I had always said about larger RVs is that I'd never tow one; I never said that I'd never own one. For a reasonable price we now have a small living space on our land that just happens to have wheels. 

Owning this land is fulfilling a lifelong desire for my wife, and I've enjoyed sharing the experience with her. So far we've only had a chance to spend one night this last fall in our new camper on our land, but setting up the land and the camping area has been a real learning experience for us. We've fixed fences, cleared brush, mowed grass, and generally opened up a private camping space for ourselves. The land has some beautiful features, but mostly the appeal is the privacy, the chance to truly be out and about without rubbing elbows with many strangers, their animals, and their chugging generators, unrequested playlists of music, and the social issues they're working out with friends and family. This doesn't mean we don't like to socialize; it just means that it's nice to have the option of solitude. 

We are looking forward to when school is out and we can turn our lifestyle more toward camping on our land. We want to try a "one-eighty" and live on the land Monday through Friday and then come back to our house on the weekends to shop, do laundry, and see the grandkids. Since we have Starlink, we will be able to set up a strong internet system on the land so that Sandy can work there with her consulting business. It will provide us with a good experience of living on the land and just having some private time for ourselves, and it's six months away.

December 19 photo of the river from the bridge by a fellow teacher

This next spring, perhaps in April, I have a camping project that should be fun. My school is on the Des Moines River. It's an eighteen-mile commute to work, and every day I cross the river to get to school. There is a small two-spot county campground down by the river, just before the bridge, and I hope to camp there next spring so that I can just walk across the river to get to work. The campsites have 30 amp electricity; however, there is no water, nor are there restrooms. With my little self-sufficient Airstream Basecamp 16, though, I'll be perfectly comfortable. Looking forward to that!

For long-term camping plans for the next season, we have hopes to travel to Michigan and/or Washington state this upcoming year since we have family in both areas. We even are considering on spending a winter in South Carolina sometime, enjoying cold (but not as cold as Iowa) winter walks on the beaches. 

For now, though, I am focusing on doing the best job I can teaching my wonderful students. At halfway through the school year, I have a good sense of the routine, the technology, and the curriculum. First years always have their challenges of so many new specifics, but my 35+ years of teaching experience provide a stabilizing influence on the day-to-day requirements. I love the people I work with--over a dozen people are former colleagues or students. Yes, many of the school's teachers and paraprofessionals are my former students!

I look forward to continuing my Green Goddess Glamping blog as time allows. Don't be surprised, though, if the posts are infrequent until the end of the school year. I'm still here, and look forward to the new year with all its variety of experiences. Happy New Year!

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Green Goddess Glamping Fall 2021 Wrap-up

Some fall camping at Lake Darling State Park

We've just passed the winter solstice, and I didn't even notice! Since this is a blog, I can write more personally and casually, so I feel comfortable telling you all that a week ago I had my front tooth pulled and some bone graft applied to that area for a future false tooth implant. I'm saying this because that's why I missed noticing the solstice and haven't been camping at the last of December, even though there has been some adequate weather. The dental surgery was more than I expected in terms of my body's reaction, so I've been taking it easy.

Because the end of the year is swooping down upon us, I might not get out in the next week. Therefore, this is a great time to think about this fall camping experience. Rather than attempt a trip-by-trip summary, I'm going to focus on a few trips and photos which encapsulate my experience of this year's "shoulder-season" camping during the first camping year my wife and I have used our new Airstream Basecamp 16-foot camper. I'm going to summarize in sets of three to keep myself from being too long-winded.

• This fall locally was warmer than usual. We have had no snow yet.
• I managed to camp in some new spots this fall, which added some new excitement to my trips.
• Using my folding Montague Allston bicycle added some extra fun to my trips.

Keeping with my "theme of three," let's look at three camping trips this fall.

A longer stay at Honey Creek State Park

Honey Creek State Park--Staying Longer

This is a park that I've camped at before. This year I set up for a longer stay with our Basecamp, allowing me to erect our Clam shelter and create a true basecamp for long daily walks along the lake shore. One of my continuing camping pursuits is to travel less and spend more time at each camping site. I was able to practice this philosophy this year when camping at HCSP. 

What I've found is that "drive less, camp longer" produces a deeper camping experience. I'm able to discover new trails to hike and learn more about the history and ecology of the area. Camping longer has provided me opportunities to get out my tree and bird identification books and to research the Native Americian early inhabitants of an area. Mostly, though, on shorter trips, my attention is centered around setting up camp and then breaking camp. One challenge during the summer is to find a spot that is available for ten days to two weeks. That isn't such a problem in the fall, though. Sometimes I'm the only camper in the entire park!

An unexpectedly hot hiking day at Wildcat Den State Park

Wildcat Den State Park--Off-grid Camping

This excursion was a weekend with my wife--in unseasonably hot weather. Since this is a primitive campsite only park, we had a chance to try out our solar panels as we camped off the grid. Our weekend of camping ended up not being as perfect as we had imagined because the weather was unseasonably hot . . . and we experienced a stink bug infestation. Because we were powered by our solar panels, we weren't able to button up the camper and use the air conditioning. Nonetheless, we did spend some fun hiking time together, and the solar panels worked well. 

Camping off the grid in Iowa's primitive campgrounds isn't the same as getting way out in the boondocks, but it is a different camping experience--one I hope to pursue more in the coming years. I know there are campgrounds that are less busy and more tucked away. Finding them will be among my more fun experiences on my wanderlust trips. What will be really interesting will be to combine longer camping along with off-the-grid camping. That will be testing my Basecamp and its solar capacity!

Watch out for slippery roots beneath the leaves!

Geode State Park--Bicycle Day Rides

It has probably been five years since I've camped at Geode State Park--on a bicycle tour--so I enjoyed camping here again after the campground was closed and lake was drained, reconstructed, and then filled. I brought my folding bike along on this trip and was able to take a day ride that circled the lake . . . and also a wonderful walk on a hiking-only trail. Even though the ride around the lake ended up being about half riding and half walking (and pushing), I was able to travel a longer distance more quickly because of the bike.

Prairie and windmills at a paved Diamond Lake trail

Another new campground this year that I discovered for bicycling is Diamond Lake Campground. I didn't have my bicycle when I camped there, but the area has some excellent trails and paths for bicycling, one that even goes from the campground to the local town of Montezuma. I expect next year one of my longer camp times will be at Diamond Lake for bicycling exploration.

Starting 2022 less a tooth, what a process!

Now that winter has finally arrived, cold winter (near-zero) will be coming soon. My plans are to not publish on this blog for a month or so, focusing on my fiction writing and also on researching and writing some stories about other campers who went out on some great adventures during 2021.  Happy 2022 new year to everyone, and I'll be sending you some new articles in a bit. 

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Is This the End of My 2021 Camping Season?

A bright but happy ride

The first couple of days of December 2021, I was indeed out in my camp trailer--in fact, the only camper at Geode State Park. My wife and I joked with the ranger, saying that is was a great deal to reserve the entire campground for just ourselves for only twelve dollars a day. 

I like the idea of camping at least once during each of the twelve months of the year. It just seems so right! Last year with our brand new Airstream Basecamp, we camped during December and then in January of 2021, two nights and an overnighter, respectively. Then the snow and ice hit, locking us out of local camping for a good two months. Will the same be true for 2022? I don't know, but there is still a chance to camp some in the upcoming weeks, if I feel like it.

The "feel like it" is not about if I'm in the camping mood; rather, it's about the dental surgery that's coming up--the removal and replacement of my front left tooth. I'm having the tooth removed in two days, so how will I feel afterwards . . . and what will be the schedule of appointments to complete the job? We'll see, but I chose to not camp early this week, even though the temperatures were camp-worthy, being in the 50s and 60s. However, I've chosen to get my house in order so that I can just rest after the oral surgery. 

Today, though, I did ride the 16-mile bicycling loop trail around my town. I just couldn't pass up the good weather which included very little wind. This is the second time I've ridden the trail in the last four weeks, the first being on November 20. This trip I took the trail in the opposite direction, which was an interesting experiment. I didn't have to climb the steepest hills traveling counter-clockwise; however, I did have some long slogs up hills with good inclines yet which I still rode rather than hopping off and pushing. I probably prefer hopping off a couple or three times to long, tedious climbs in the lower gears, but it was all good. For the long climbs this time, I used my phone to put some music on and just kept grinding up the hills.

Bentonsport, Des Moines River

By heading out from home for a bicycle day ride, I did choose to not camp this week, but I made that choice feeling that I can camp a bit later in the month, even though temperatures will be lower with highs around freezing and lows in the teens. I can do that if my face feels okay, though, and I can wear a mask if my face happens to be a front tooth shy. Perfect! I might like to camp along the Des Moines River at Bentonsport Campground. That campground has no water during the winter but does keep the electricity on. There is some good hiking there and a gravel road for bicycle riding. I camped there three years ago in my tiny camper, the Green Goddess. 

When does the 2021 camping season end, anyway? Is January 2022 a new camping season or just a continuation of winter 2021--kind of like (only backwards) how new model cars come out before the new year. Most likely, I just have to be literal and say the 2021 camping season ends at the end of the year. The exciting thing about that, though, is that the new camping season begins in a bit over two weeks. Yay!

All that calendar stuff is pretty much arbitrary, anyway. I'm just glad to be able to look forward to some more camping in the next few weeks. Beyond that, if the roads are clear, I can always head south.

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A Basecamp for Fall Hiking

Early morning after the rain

After a night of rain and wind, dawn eases into a day of bright, crisp skies, the still air permeated with the earthy smells of leaf duff while fall colors carpet the trails with reds, yellows, and browns. Autumn is a beautiful time to hike, and Lacey-Keosauqua State Park in southeast Iowa provides some excellent hiking opportunities--a two-mile hike around the lake, unmarked trails above the lake that lead off onto the shoulders of the hills around the lake, and the River Trail hike that skirts the Des Moines River. I basecamped at the state park's campground for four nights, hiking every day and enjoying the beauty of the fall weather.

Lacey-Keosauqua State Park is close to home, and I've camped here many times. Although there are road-bicycling opportunities, the trails are for hiking only; therefore, this trip I left my folding Montague Allston at home because I wanted more time among the trees and on the trails. Especially after a rain, walking the fall trails is a pleasure. I can walk in silence because the wet leaves don't crunch with each footstep, and in that silence the small sounds of forest life are amplified. I feel myself merging with the sounds, pausing to be part of the silence and then moving along the trails that follow old deer paths, keeping to an even elevation that laterally follow the ridge lines which conserves energy, minimizing climbs and descents. 

A Basecamp for my old bones

Lichen and leaves on a stone bridge

My attention unconsciously narrows, and I find myself framing smaller images when I choose to photograph something, a single tree or stone bridge, lichen and leaves, a ribbon of river slicing across the vision. It's good to be alone, although it would have been equally enjoyable to share my hiking time with my wife as my companion--a different hike but also unifying. As it happened, I was hiking alone, yet not alone. It's difficult to describe, but I felt at home, even though I wasn't at home. I had traveled to this state park to spend time camping in my new Airstream Basecamp and hiking through the woods, and I was doing this, remembering the trails and re-discovering what I had forgotten. 

My brother passed away three quarters of a year ago, and I thought of how he would have enjoyed the walk around the lake. He would have enjoyed being out among the oaks and maples; he would have enjoyed sharing the moment with me when a buck leaped across the trail and up the hill, full-muscled with the fall rut season, its antlers gleaming pale among the darker fall colors. Mostly, though, I just walked and then stopped for a time, walked again and stopped again, enjoying each moment and allowing myself to ease into each moment--and maybe even forgetting time and just being in the woods, as simple as sunshine on a green leaf.

Earlier Keosauqua times with the "Green Goddess"

Sitting by the campfire every night, I read by "Kindle light" or with my headlamp from a paper book. For three of the four nights I enjoyed the early darkness by enjoying the fire, eating a dinner snack of saltine crackers and almond butter along with an apple. The fourth night was windy, so I basecamped it inside my trailer, cozy but lacking the flickering reassurance and the smoky musk of the fire. This trip I also had decided to cook more, so for lunches I whipped up baking powder biscuits, open-faced sandwiches, and baked vegetables. I used the Basecamp's kitchen more, accustoming myself to cooking inside and reassuring myself that it was possible to do so and not make a mess. I did cook outside some on an aluminum table I set up next to the trailer, utilizing its outdoor, 20-amp outlet to plug in a toaster oven and Instant Pot. Mostly I used these inside, though, making sure, of course, that the Instant Pot was vented outside because I was keeping an eye on the condensation level. I found that the Airstream Basecamp, larger than the tiny, standy trailer I camped in last year, was more comfortable, providing more room and amenities, even while winterized. That doesn't mean, of course, that I wasn't happy as a clam when out camping with our first trailer, an RTTC Polar Bear. Both provided a warm, comfortable haven from which I could take off for a day of hiking and then return to relax and gather my strength for the next day.

Just a walk through the woods

Being a loving and responsible member of my family, sometimes I find myself worrying, feeling the burden of these perilous, pandemic times with their health and economic challenges. I feel physically every hard knock my family takes, teeter on every precipice they have to negotiate. Being out in the woods and moving, hiking up the rises and carefully down descents slippery with leaves glistening with rainfall from the night before, just being more in the active moment helps me find a more stable perspective. I realize one situation I'm worrying about won't come to a decision point for another six weeks, that some decisions aren't mine to make. The best approach to many challenges is to act when the moment is right and to not dwell on negative possibilities prior to the cusp of that moment. I think hiking in the woods helps remind me of this. Nature reminds me that pivotal moments exist within larger rhythms and cycles, and that worrying about those pivotal moments doesn't hurry them along; the time to act is when the time is ripe. We have to learn to enjoy each moment and maybe to come to realize and live the ultimate truth--that we tend to superimpose "moments" upon cosmic reality, that we our plans should make life simpler, not more complex. We should make plans and then put them aside until the time of action arrives.

Watching the river flow, Ely Ford, LKSP

I'm trying to understand why I enjoy camping in the woods, why this state park draws me with its simple joys. The irony is that if I think too much about why I like to camp, I'm missing the point: thinking about being in the moment isn't being in the moment! My "moment of being" right now, though, is a writing moment, not a hiking moment. I'm at home, next to my wood stove that is crackling quietly as the fire cools. It's windy outside and dawn still awaits. The whipping moan of the wind wakes me early, and so I write in the quiet of the night, dawn a future moment in time, my reality right now the dark wind outside and my flow of thoughts and words. 

This is my reality right now, my remembrance of the fall woods and the joy of being well and hiking on a brisk fall day. My moments of serenity and light become like a string of pearls, unified into one single life, one of many lives and many shining moments. Camping in the "basecamp" of my body, I sit beside a campfire, night having arrived. Brilliant is the light, unfathomable is the darkness. Let the fire die down. I'll add more wood while it lasts, happy and warm in the moment.

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