A Winter Camping Adventure in Minnesota
October Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Adventure”
Winter camping? What were you thinking?
Minnesota is known for long, cold winters and short, hot summers. As a lifelong camper, I have done most of my camping in the summertime.
After many decades of sharing the woods with mosquitoes, it was time to try tent camping in mid-January. The destination was Tettagouche State Park on the north shore of Lake Superior, the world’s biggest lake by surface area.
The goal was to ski five miles to a backcountry campsite. But skiing on a hilly route with a loaded backpack proved difficult, so I took it easy and set up camp in a walk-in site along the lakeshore.
Typically, overnight temperatures in January plummet to below 0° F (-18° C) “up north” in northern Minnesota. However, a rare warm spell raised the temperature to a comfortable 32° F (0° C).
Best of all, no mosquitoes shared the campsite.
After returning to the office on Monday, my coworkers asked about the winter camping trip. Some seemed impressed when hearing about the adventure. But their facial expressions declared, “Winter camping? What were you thinking?”
Thanks to Sandi Parsons for this month’s challenge. I made the deadline just in time. Also, thanks to publisher Mary Chang Story Writer, and Sandi’s fellow editor, Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles. I have been slacking off on writing, but it is good to be back.
