[at-l] Re: Okay, trip report kinda, sorta (long

[foshione@dteenergy.com (Elizabeth A. Foshion)]

I love N. Manitou Is. I try to go at least twice a year.

My two worst camping experiences happened there.

The first one was the first time I went. It was opening week - May
something and there was only 1 other person on the island for the week,
even the ranger went back on the boat I arrived on. Weather was
glorious, the other guy went south, I went north. Everything perfect.
Then, I came down with the worst case of the flu I think I've ever had,
the temperature plunged 30 degrees and it started raining buckets. I'm
literaly racked with chills and fever, everything in my tent is damp, oh

yeah - I was having fun. I crawled back up to the village, planning to
build a large fire in the group area and climb into the middle. Luckily
one of the maintenance guys had come over that day and he came across
me, put me up in one of the houses with a hot shower, dry bed, and all
the hot drinks I could swallow. The next day I rode home in the ranger
boat, head over the rail all the way.

The second experience was more like slapstick. Three of us, two tents,
on the spur of the moment rushed out for a weekend on the island. After
we arrived and started to set up, we discovered that we were missing
essential parts of both tents, so we ended up with a very makeshift
shelter that was so tight that we had to sleep head-to-toe to fit. Then
we discovered that both stoves were out of commision... Then, the
temperature dropped and it started raining buckets again...  My friends
laughed at me for sleeping with two fire heated rocks..they laughed the
first night. Guess who was baking rocks night 2. Eventually we got
everything worked out, but those first couple of nights were hell.

Squirrelgirl