And drove to the AAFS show several weeks ago in Denver, Colorado. Show was great. Afterwards, it got interesting.
Drove way up into the snowy mountains by myself. Took a 60lb pack, snowshoes and my down sleeping bag, but no tent. I planned on finding a spot to dig a snow cave and spend the night. What could go wrong?
First challenge out of the gate, I couldn’t lift the heavy pack. So, I managed to hoist it on the tailgate, backed into it, and slipped in that way. Probably should have quit right there.
Snowshoeing for a couple of hours, I quickly gained altitude. I had this monkey on my back that I couldn’t remove, so I rested every 20 minutes or so, leaning over clutching my knees. Just lingering long enough to drink some water and stay well-hydrated. Google says people die of dehydration in the wilderness before starvation.
Looking at my Timex watch, I did some quick math and felt the familiar pang in my gut. I needed to start looking for a place to dig my snow cave. 1 person needs about 5-6 hours to dig a decent snow cave. I soon settled on a spot and started digging. And digging. And digging. If you are careful, you can cut perfectly square blocks of snow with a regular hand saw. Pretty cool.
All the while, I tried to stay super hydrated.
Three or four hours into the dig, I discovered I could have found a better spot than I did. The sun was fading fast and the bitter cold was creeping in. I wasn’t about to put that 60lb monkey on my back again, so I decided to make do. I had to carve a sleeping area with almost no head room, and as it turned out, 12” too short.
I managed to stuff my sleeping bag in the little hole in the mountainside. Yes, I remembered to cut a small airway in the roof with a ski pole so I wouldn’t suffocate myself.
It took me about 15 minutes to squeeze into the cave. Once in there, I was determined not to come out until morning. An empty screw-cap 32oz water bottle was by my side for relieving myself. Remember, I was super hydrated. The bottle had this little internal cap I inadvertently forgot to remove. The warmth that I was feeling was not from the bottle walls. I knew it wasn’t me bleeding, so it had to be my worst nightmare. I had now to deal with a wet sleeping bag in 10-degree weather. Fear of surviving did cross my mind.
Enough said. I did not forget to remove the internal cap the next time, or the next, the next or the next.
God was watching over me though.
I am sure He was watching in amazement, wondering why I put myself through such situations…and do it time after time. Am I the only one doing crazy stuff?