Via Oregon - May/June 2021 - 40

BEN HERNDON / TANDEM STOCK

On my first-ever camping trip, it snowed. It wasn't

Editor's note: If you
choose not to travel
right now, save this
article for when you
feel comfortable
doing so again. You
should also consult
the latest travel
information at
AAA.com/covid.
40

something we'd been expecting earlier in the week. The mid-October weather in
California's Tahoe National Forest had been much warmer just a few days before,
but when you're high in the Sierra Nevada mountains, anything goes. So instead
of reveling in the burnt hues of autumn leaves, we awoke that morning to find our
campsite covered in a pristine layer of white. Nearby, stands of cedar, ponderosa
pine, and oak trees shone with their own wintry attire, their branches dusted with
powdery flakes, while our tents brightened the scene like colorful spurts of paint
on an otherwise bare canvas. All except my tent, that is, which now sat collapsed
beneath six inches of snowfall.
Thankfully, I hadn't slept inside. My camping companions, wisely sensing my
inexperience and lack of preparation (my tent didn't even have an outer rainfly
to protect it from the elements), had insisted that I share their larger, sturdier
shelter instead.
Despite this rocky start, I've grown to love camping. In the years since, I've
pitched my tent among the majestic peaks of Montana's Many Glacier Valley,
slept beneath the richly scented old-growth redwoods of Northern California's
Samuel P. Taylor State Park, and watched in amazement as a small herd of elk

V I A | M AY+ J U N E 2 0 2 1
http://www.AAA.com/covid
Via Oregon - May/June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Via Oregon - May/June 2021
