Went camping for the first time in Years

Blue88Comanche · November 7, 2016

this past weekend i went camping with my friend and younger brother. It was about 7 years sense the last time ive been camping. My friend Cody has been to Bushcraft lately and was mostly ready for camping. my brother steven and I where in the Boy Scouts years ago. I Made it to Eagle Scout, but Steven didn't stick with it. we loaded up the back of Steven's cherokee and the 3 of us set off for shepard state park in MS.

When we arrived we checked in at the main office then set off to the tent camping area. The sites are first com first serve with no defined camp sites. So we where able to find a spot and claim it as ours. we unloaded the gear form the jeep and pitched the tents. after the tents where up steven and cody started on the cooking fire. while they where getting the fire ready i was preparing dinner. For dinner i cooked a whole chicken, potatoes, and carrots in a dutch oven. after a couple hours it was fall off the bone tender.

on day 2 i started breakfast while steven and cody gathered and processed the woof for the fire. around 10 am, i started cooking dinner, i filled the dutch oven up quarter way with water, and dropped in some diced red potatoes and seasoning and let it start to cook down for the stew. while the potatoes where cooking cody and i scouted the nearby trails. after about 30 mins we headed back to camp. most of Saturday was gathering wood, hanging out, chating, and laid back. at 12 i cubed a roast and more red potatoes, and added it to the stew with some bacon and carrots as well. about 5 ish we added more carrots and potatoes, and at 7:30pm the stew was ready.

As we got settled into our tents at 12am someone came driving through the tent area with their high beams on. As you can imagine we weren't amused. Cody and i got up with our flashlights in hand to investigate. we watched the car drop off 3 people then drive off, the 3 people then walked off some where, maybe 20 mins later 2 cars are now driving around with the primitive camping area shining their lights everywhere. they eventually stop and set up a single tent and we counted at least 4 people. we stayed up for another hour just to make sure they wouldn't bother us. thankfully they where quiet and never disturbed us after they initially drove through.

Sunday morning i slept in but steven got up around 7 and decide to sit in his jeep, and eat my chips while watching netflix.... around 8 or so we ate breakfast and started packing up. I was surprised at how quickly we packed up. we opted to head home instead of staying longer. On the way out I stopped by the office to check in on out late night arrivals. and the college student said they did pay. So I thanked him and we headed home via HWY 90 and where home shortly after.

Probably not the most exciting camping trip, but we all had a good time and looking forward to the next one. I'll be able to leave a bunch of stuff at home next time around.

Day 1 by Blue88Comanche, on Flickr