Let's Go Camping: Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest

Day 1:

I'll be honest, I had (have?) a lot of anxiety about this trip. How will Maple do in the car for that long? How about in the tent? Will she poop inside? Will she be freaked out being outside? On top of that, I had only figured out my meal situation the night before, changing my mind several times while shopping. And then when midnight rolled around and sleep wasn't answering my calls, I decided it was time to get my car packed as much as possible. I fiddled with my car top box for a long while, setting off my alarm at 1 am, which I am sure my neighbors enjoyed. Sorry guys! It was about 2 am when I finally was able to call it a night and passed out.

Four hours later and it was rise and shine time. There are six of us planning to camp, and another friend and I met up in Laramie to scout out dispersed camping sites. For those who don't know, dispersed camping is where you pitch a tent outside a traditional campground. There are typically no facilities nearby, and maybe not even a fire pit (personally, if there is no fire pit, I'm out). But after some driving around, we found one that suited our needs.

Holy crap, the site was awesome! Tons of space, a very well-built fire pit, and close enough to the road that driving at night wouldn't be scary, but far enough away that anyone driving by wouldn't wake us. I'm glad we left early, several other cars swung by only to turn around.

Maple ... LOVES being out at the campsite. She was busy exploring the surrounding area while I set up our monstrously oversized tent (in a harness and tethered leash, of course) and I ended up jury-rigging a longer leash out of the guy lines for my tent. Sure, she got caught on ever rock and twig and had to be 'rescued' every five minutes, but I was thrilled with how adventurous she was. If only her recall was better; kittens really are easily distracted. Can I just say, a 4-person tent is way too big for a man and his cat!

We didn't do too much after setting up camp; it took 5+ hours for the rest of our group to arrive. Dinner was a simple homemade ramen with chicken, and you can be sure Maple got some of the chicken (it wasn't seasoned).

Day 2:

Today was an exciting day! Not exactly terrific, but filled with emotions. My friends were gung-ho and ready to hike some serious mountains (of which there was still snow - Snowy Mountain certainly earns its name). However, I wasn't about to leave Maple in the tent or car for five hours, and you can be sure she would not last long with a hike like that, so instead we did the Corner Mountain Loop Trail - a pretty unimpressive hike, if I'm being honest, but it was short enough that I felt confident that Maple could handle it.

She didn't do too well. It was very warm out, and we had to stop for water a lot; I forgot her bowl, so she was drinking out of my hand a lot. I brought her dry snacks as a way to reward her, but she is kinda clumsy and dropped most of them before she could eat them. It wasn't longer after until she ignored them completely. I did figure out that the latch I use to clip her to inside the bag can be fed through an opening, so she can comfortably stand on top versus poking her head out, or standing over the open flap. She tolerated that for a while, but was meowing furiously to be let down before we even reached the halfway point.

Speaking of halfway, it so happened that at the point in the trail I got an emergency text from one of my friends saying she locked her key in the trunk and to call roadside services. Fun times! Fortunately, I had some cell service and was able to call for help.

The locksmith said he was an hour away, and it would only take me 20 minutes to meet him at their parking lot, so Maple and I meandered and stopped along the way. We took some great shots and even got to play in the snow! She seemed indifferent about it, but I'll take that over dislike or displeasure.

We eventually made it to the car, and after getting it unlocked, I waited for my friends to get back. And waited. And waited! Where they were, we had zero service, so eventually I gave up and started driving back to the campsite. Lo and behold, as soon as I can signal again, they texted that they were returning at about the time I left. That figures! We had been waiting for hours, and I was getting some serious FOMO thinking about the hike they were having. C'mon Maple, get into these hikes with me!

We decided to take it easy and stop at Lewis Lake at the Sugarloaf Campground to rest a little. Maple didn't really care about the lake, she was more interested in two dogs that wanted nothing to do with her. And after about an hour, the mosquitos were harassing us too much, and we abandoned the water to return to camp. My arms and back looked like I had a severe allergic reaction, it was so bad!

As I get older, relaxing by the fire seems more and more peaceful. Maple is very curious, but I stuck her in her travel carrier when she started getting too close - and then the tent because she was meowing so much that we couldn't speak due to her interruptions. I gotta say, she loves being inside it. She plays with all the loops and zippers, but calms down immediately when I lay down for bed. I brought her comfort blanket with me, and she nestled right down in there.

Day 3:

I was the last one up at the site, and took significantly longer to pack up than the rest of the group. I decided not to do a morning hike with Maple because of how stressed she was yesterday, but she napped on my lap for the entire drive back.

That's what I call a successful first camping trip! What do you think? Would you recommend trying something differently?