Wild Country Writings: Peak Perfection

Well, one week ago (last Sunday), we headed into our camp location for the overnight trips for one of the private clubs, to get it set up and ready to go for our first overnight there, this coming week. Due to the extremely wet conditions this year, we were asked to NOT bring stock if we could avoid it. So, we hiked in and spent the day preparing camp.

As usual, we had to traverse some terribly unattractive terrain.

See the pretty waterfall?

Once in camp, we got started putting together the bed "platforms" which are really just bed frames made out of lumber so they are sturdy, solid & can be taken apart to store over the winter. After all 10 beds were assembled, we ate lunch & I checked out the camp area.

This beautiful little stream flows right through camp.

After our break, we got back to work on setting up camp. The first tent up was the cook tent, then we moved on to the teepee's. Teepees can be a very challenging thing to set up - I can't believe the women always did this in the Native American Camps!

The first step is to lay the teepee out on the ground. Because the area was still VERY wet, we used a tarp to keep the teepee from getting too dirty & muddy. After it's laid out, we tie the teepee to a long pole, attaching the teepee top only, to the upper part of the pole.

Next, we stand the pole & teepee up & lean that pole into it's spot on the teepee frame.

Once it's upright, we "unroll" the teepee around the frame, and try to get it pulled tight & even.

Once it's fitted & seems to be oriented correctly, we put all the finishing touches on:

Staking to the ground

Putting in the hand-carved willow ties on the door

And, finally, closing the smoke hole at the top - sometimes the most challenging of all. A long pole must be inserted in a small pocket at the top of each of the two flaps, and then laid across each other to close the hole.