Autumnal Adventures
OCTOBER COUNTRY
October is the best month for camping. I know this because I’ve been camping during every month of the year, and none can compare to October. October is a special month — a transitional time of change. October’s usually not too cold. There are less bugs than in the summer. Most importantly, there are colorful fall leaves. There’s just something sublime about the spirit of October that’s perfectly suited to roughing it in the woods around a campfire.
My girlfriend, Catt, and I enjoy camping together. We were well overdue for a camping trip this year, so we went to Tar Hollow State Park in southeastern Ohio. It’s a lesser-known state park with less traffic than its more popular neighbor, Hocking Hills (which is why I chose it). It’s named Tar Hollow because of its history of pine tar production during the early nineteenth century. Southeastern Ohio has a different vibe compared to the rest of the state. There are mountains and ancient broadleaf forests — the foothills of Appalachia. It feels like another world.
TAR HOLLOW
We drove down on a chilly Saturday morning. Instead of taking the freeway, we stuck to the dusty country roads. We sang along to “The Monster Mash” and other classic Halloween songs. We stopped at Walmart for groceries on the way, and we also bought a cooler since we didn’t have one.
As we got closer to the park, our cell service got weaker and weaker until finally we had no reception at all. Our phones were nothing more than glass bricks at this point. Good.
Our campsite was at the back of a huge, empty parking lot with a basketball hoop. Adjacent to our campsite was a small lake with a dam. Behind our campsite was the trailhead leading into the wooded hills. On the horizon, towering above the lake — a mighty mountain covered with red, green, and gold foliage.
After setting up camp, we located the trailhead and began our hike. The terrain was steep; the trees were tall; the canopy was thick. We hiked two miles total, which doesn’t sound too far, but the elevation changes made it challenging.
When we returned to our campsite, we made sandwiches for lunch and hung out around the fire. I brought my binoculars, so we birdwatched (and spied on our neighbors). Then we took a short siesta. Catt set up the inside of our tent with tons of blankets and pillows to make it extra cozy (which it was).
After our nap, we reignited the fire and cooked dinner. For dinner, we boiled water over the fire to cook Velveeta mac and cheese and made sandwiches (I toasted my sandwich over the fire).
Now it was time for the fun to start!
I built up a big, hot fire, and we ate marijuana edibles and gathered around to drink beer and seltzers and talk until we couldn’t stop laughing. I told Catt scary stories about bigfoots and their strange mating rituals (which I learned from watching YouTube videos). For example, did you know that it’s quite common for bigfoots to abduct humans and take them back to their caves to breed with them?
I also explained the plot of the movie Cannibal Holocaust and the lore behind its infamous production (snuff film allegations).
The stars were brilliant and bright. Sleep came easily to me that night.
LOVE
I woke up early and packed up our camp so that when Catt woke up, we were ready to go.
She said it was a perfect camping experience, and that’s all that matters to me.
Happy birthday, Kitty Catt! 💖