The Rituals of Camping

SOMEWHERE EAST OF SNOW LAKE, CATRON COUNTY--The stove works with the lantern plunger in it! There is probably a more global lesson here, but I will instead go on to what we had for breakfast: bratwurst, bacon, fried potatoes, eggs, and coffee. Ken had one less egg than I did. My dog Baby ate everything we did, but in a more petite size.
I have seldom seen Snow Lake this crowded: it was about half full. But it was Labor Day weekend and also the Elk bow season is underway. The bad news is that there are a lot of hunters. The good news is that they are bow hunters and you don't hear shots going off all the time.
Not that we camped at Snow Lake! Ken and I rarely use developed campgrounds. We prefer to go way off and away from everybody. Primitive conditions. We carry everything we need to be comfortable:

1. 2 chairs
2. 2 tables (one for cooking, one for eating)
3. 8 gallon jugs of water
4. a tarp
5. 2 tents
6. 2 sleeping bags with pads
7. our own pillows
8. 1 50 year old stove
9. 1 50 year old lantern
10. large cooler full of beverages and food
11. box of stuff
12. 2 hatchets
13. 1 dog with food
14. 1 50 year old chuck box (made by my dad)

A lot of this stuff has personal meaning to each of us. And camping is so ritualized that it is sometimes important to have just the right piece of equipment (like that old stove)...even if you have to nurture it along.