Let's Go, Jane!

On Saturday afternoon, I walked into the woods with a backpack and a plan to usher in the first day of fall by spending the night sleeping under the stars. I was nervous. It had been a decade since I last went camping, and I have never camped alone before, let alone without a tent. But this idea, one that had been percolating in my brain for weeks, was too appealing to ignore.

I brought my trusty Osprey Fairview backpack, minus the daypack. I was able to fill it comfortably with an old 3-season sleeping bag and camping pillow, a bivvy bag, sleeping mat, and some warm clothes. I also learned how to make a camping stove out of an aluminum can and brought a small stainless pot, mug, and instant coffee. My plan was to filter creek water in the morning to make coffee. Yes, I will survive the apocalypse.

The water filter was actually something I bought during the spring of 2020, when food was disappearing from grocery store shelves as fear of the unknown made people start hoarding. I made myself a short list of what I needed to survive if we couldn’t get food in the store – some rice, dried black beans, and coffee. Add to that a first aid kit, a water filtration device, and a slingshot. Was I planning to live on squirrel and bean stew? Maybe. It was a strange and scary time.

I parked my car around 3 pm on the side of a dirt road near the trailhead I had selected for my Equinox adventure. The weather was perfect for a hike, 70 degrees and low humidity. I set off on the trail, as it wound back and forth on footbridges across a small creek. When it looked like the trail was heading away from the creek for good, I stopped and filled my water bladder. I continued hiking for miles, my nerves increasing as the sun got lower and lower in the sky. This was a new trail for me, and I wasn’t sure how hard it would be to find a good sleeping spot.

Finally, after about two hours of hiking, I reached the peak of Round Hill. It was a gorgeous stone clearing overlooking a valley. The clearing faced West, and had a perfect view of the sun as it was preparing to set behind the distant hills. I scouted a flat(ish) spot that was not visible from the trail and set up my sleeping area.

I headed back to the clearing and found a comfortable rock throne, still warm from the sun, where I sat and wrote in my journal until it got dark. It was early, but I got into my makeshift bed and stared up at the sky. I was lying under an oak tree, its leaves full of holes. (Did you know that oak trees are host to over 500 species of butterflies and moths? They’re like giant bird feeders).

When I finally fell asleep, the night was like an endless series of naps. I woke and saw that the stars had come out, with the Big Dipper just over my feet. I woke again, and saw the moon had joined the stars. I was warm enough without the sleeping bag until about 3:30 am, when I added it to the bivvy bag. Finally, I woke up and saw daylight, at about 6:40 am. It was chilly, so it took me a while before I was ready to brave the cold and get up.

The idea of hot coffee is what finally got me out of my sleeping bag. I grabbed the camping stove and water filter and made my way back to my rock throne. With relatively little fuss, I soon had a steaming cup of instant coffee in my hands. I watched the valley fill with sunlight as I drank my coffee in silence, occasionally punctuated by an enthusiastic Pileated Woodpecker having his breakfast nearby. Then I packed up my things and headed back to the trail.

The first sight that greeted me was a perfect small gray feather lying right in the middle of the path. I picked it up and started walking, then stopped in my tracks. I’ve only been to this state park once before, eleven years ago for a nature solo. And I came home with a feather that time too, almost identical. What an eerie coincidence. I continued hiking back to the car, accompanied by cheerful asters and goldenrods, and a tremendous sense of accomplishment.

During my return hike I ran into one other hiker, a man with a dog. I wished him a nice first day of fall, and he said something about how it was starting in three minutes. A fellow Equinox observer, how delightful! I drove home, stopping at a diner along the way, and took a 1.5 hour nap when I got back to my bed. What a perfect way to start Autumn.