How wonderful that you can experience a little of
what I was able to experience 45 years ago, when campgrounds
weren’t crowded, you could drink from springs and creeks before
giardia was imported from central Asia, many places that are now
housing developments were wilderness, and we didn’t have Gore-Tex,
lightweight tents, foam mattresses, sleeping bags good to 60 below,
freeze-dried food, etc. (HCN, 10/15/07). I,
however, have paid my dues – and taxes – and now prefer to retreat
into my home when it rains, turns cold and windy, or the mosquitoes
drive me to distraction. When we are out in places like Mono Lake,
Death Valley, or some national forest campground in the shadow of
Mount Adams, we are usually outside, cooking, visiting, and
enjoying the sights, sounds and smells until we are ready for our
comfortable memory foam mattress. I can and do still make biscuits
in my Dutch oven, fry bacon, eggs and pancakes over an open fire
with my cast-iron griddle, and I can still make tin-can coffee,
even if it doesn’t taste like Starbucks.
Stan
Binns
Goldendale, Washington
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline When’s breakfast?.
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