Pretty awesome huh? Back in May I booked a trip for Labor Day weekend and as the date approached I convinced Kathleen to come with me. We left on Saturday morning and took a gorgeous 2.5 hour drive to the Berkshires. On the way we stopped to pick up some food and drinks at the grocery store. My only camping experience was from a 10 day trip in South Africa four years ago where we had a chef and a guide, so neither of us really knew what to bring. We packed a cooler with burgers (and the fix ins) and bought some granola bars and peanut butter and jelly for backup.
Since I don't have a tent, I had booked us two nights in a "cabin tent" -- basically a wooden structure with a tarp over it and 4 cots inside. We brought sleeping bags, pillows and extra blankets, and also had a gas grill and a little gas lantern inside (which was good, because we only had one dinky flashlight between us).
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| Cabin G! |
As soon as we got to the camp site we lost cell service. It was actually REALLY nice to be disconnected but I didn't take many pictures because usually my phone was away/dead.
Once we were settled in to our tent we did a bit of exploring and walked around the site. We took a short hike up the hill but stopped when we thought we heard a bear. Apparently there are lots of bears in the area and I wasn't ready to face one!
When we got back to the cabin it was time to test our cooking skills! After some technical difficulties, we managed to get the grill to work and cooked up some burgers. I was so proud of us!! It took way longer to cook than expected so by the time the food was ready it was really dark and we had to eat by the light of our one flashlight...LOL. I also put my cell phone flashlight into a plastic bag and basically made a glowing orb. I am pretty resourceful.
Earlier in the day we learned that a bachelor party was staying in a few cabin tents right next to us and they were super friendly (and helpful!). We ended up spending the night playing drinking games with them (Kathleen and I still rule at beer pong), and even were treated to same late night grilling. Their burgers were just a litttttle better than ours. :)
On Sunday we were up and out around 10 am for white water rafting! It was both of our first time rafting, so we decided to do the "Zoar Gap" trip which included some class II and III rapids. It was definitely a good first time trip, but I'd love to go back and do the more exciting class IV rafting trip! The trip started with us meeting the guides and picking up our equipment (helmet, oar, and life vest). We all loaded up in a school bus and drove 10 miles up stream where we'd be taking off. I obviously didn't bring my camera for this but they had photographers who got some awesome shots!! I'm wearing the pink top and am on the left side of all the photos. Me and Kathleen started in the back but were in the front spot for the second half of the trip.
The whole trip consisted of 10 miles of rafting. We stopped about half way for lunch in a beautiful field on the side of the river, which was unexpected and very cool! I was pretty tired once we got back to the camp site -- rafting 10 miles is tough work.
When we got back from the rafting trip the weather decided not to cooperate. It was raining quite a bit, so we figured we'd be better off leaving the camp site and heading into a nearby town for dinner. We drove about 15 miles away to Greenfield, and couldn't resist stopping at Friendly's for some healthy food:
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| Did I say healthy? |
After we ate we went to the local movie theater to see The Giver. I loved it! But it was too short.
By the time we drove back to the camp site it was pretty late and it was PITCH BLACK. There weren't any lights on the road and the window kept fogging up because of the rain -- it was terrifying and I was sure we were going to drive off a cliff. Luckily Kathleen got us back in one piece :)
Once back on site we got ready for the night, lit the gas lantern and climbed into our cots. Unfortunately this night didn't involve as much alcohol, so I did my best to avoid the huge bugs crawling all over the bed and fell asleep eventually.
A few hours later I woke up to Kathleen waving the flash light around. When I inquired about what she was doing she said there was an animal on the roof and she couldn't sleep because she could hear it. I felt 100% terrified after she told me this and didn't want to ask any questions that might make it worse. I'm a horrible friend and basically told her I couldn't deal with it or I'd freak out. So I put my ear plugs back in, threw her an extra pair, and crossed my fingers that the tiny lock on our cabin door would keep out the animals (uhh yea right). The cabin was on stilts so whenever either of us moved the whole thing would shake. I started noticing that the cabin was very shaky and was sure there was a bear crawling on top of us. Luckily it was just Kathleen moving around a lot. Scariest night of my life! In the morning we came to the conclusion that it was likely chipmunks running around on the tent and I would have happily welcomed them into my bed to snuggle! There were SO many chipmunks running around the area. Why are they so cute??
On Sunday morning we woke up early, packed up our things, and got ready for our next adventure: zip lining! The course included 11 zip lines, 2 sky bridges and 3 rappels -- it's a tree-based course that leads you from the top of Hawk Mountain to the valley floor 600 feet below. It was pretty awesome and made for some amazing views.
We were in a group of 7 with two guides who were really great. I didn't realize I was going to have to do any work while zipping (LOL) and was pretty nervous to learn I'd have to stop myself with my hand! Luckily they gave us big leather gloves to use and after the first one stopping was pretty easy. Some photos:
The whole trip took about 3 hours and I was sad when it was over! Those 3 hours went way too fast. Once we were finished we went to the camp's shop so I could spend the rest of my gift card. I ended up buying some shirt that I hope will be useful for winter running.
We were in a group of 7 with two guides who were really great. I didn't realize I was going to have to do any work while zipping (LOL) and was pretty nervous to learn I'd have to stop myself with my hand! Luckily they gave us big leather gloves to use and after the first one stopping was pretty easy. Some photos:
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| I look like I'm struggling... |
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| But Kathleen looks like a natural! |
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| Up in the trees! |
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| Notice any difference between the two photos? |
It was an awesome weekend and I'm so glad I had my best friend there with me :)
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