Travels of a Lunatic

Not really  , I just liked the sound of the title ; May one day need to reuse that to label my life journal.  I did forget my recently prescribed meds at home, realizing this 2 hours too late , but resolved to not become a nut-job this weekend and for the most part was successful.

We decided to try another camping weekend since the last one got cut short.  This time we stayed at Clarksburgh State park in order to kayak Mauserts Pond.  I booked a site that had a direct path to the water that we could run our boats down.  Unfortunately , upon check-in , I found out that I booked sat- mon instead of fri-sun.  I was a little disappointed (bright red with frustration) , but the new unintentionally unmedicated Kevin remained calm , took a site further up and anticipated either moving the next day or negotiating keeping the site with the am guy.
  We set up pretty quickly ; we are old pro`s now...  enjoyed a dinner of Muckies dogs and Lori`s killer pasta salad -In bed by 11am to get up early and Hike.  I drifted to sleep ,  dreaming of our having to move the entire tent ,filled with bedding , clothes and inflatable bed  ; Lori and I on either side, tripping and stumbling our way down the road towards our new site -negotiating camper traffic and folks` morning john ritual  - hampered by our inability to see around our unwieldy , bulky and deteriorating dwelling.....the poles intermittently releasing themselves from their wedges , suddenly snapping straight out and collapsing aspects of the tent structure ,  immediately amplifying the loads width , its hazardous piercing potential and its bearers consternation.
  Awake .... as the birds trumpet in the morning and the cool fog of sleep lifts from my brow ,.... oooh gotta PEE!!!! Nothing like a cold evening in a tent to fill your bladder to bursting.  Unzip the tent - catching it on the fabric every 3 inches , reverse and rezip an inch , and repeat.  Eventually , I stick my feet into the dew filled shoes I left outside the tent and slosh my way to the latrine.
  Camping is Joy :-)
After a nice breakfast of cream of wheat , instant coffee and white chocolate peanut butter sandwich ( it really was pretty good_ We drove up to Mount greylock , stopped at some beautiful views along the way...... At the peak , we began a hike called Thunderbolt  , something or other. Unknowingly , we found It essentially went straight down , a joint jarring 2100 foot drop that would eventually lead to a need to ascend that same distance , creating mathematical harmony but bodily chaos.  I astutely halted our descent approximately 700 feet down when we discovered  these facts , outlined in an unassuming historical placard that was peaking out from overgrown brush ,  which explained the trails original creation and usage as a downhill ski trail ....yeah , the Thunderbolt.  We cried our way back up the mountain, drove further down to a much more manageable trailhead.
 Or so we thought.
We went to Pecks falls which also was a lot of descent ,  leading to a lot of return climbing to do.  We did about three and a half grueling miles.  Its incredible how such a weak force as gravity can be so tiring to overcome. Lori did get to stick her tootsies in the ice cold waterfall prior to the ascent.  I should`ve.  Instead of looping , we hopped onto another trail (the gps showed it was nearby and would intersect near our origin)  , that had some geocaches on it.  I didn`t realize that we would need to descend into a valley , negotiating crumbling switchbacks , crossing the valley stream , and scrambling up the hill to HOP onto this trail.  I mis-read the topo on the gps , seeing that the trail we were currently on and the trail I intended to navigate to , were of the save elevation.  I must`ve missed the part where it dropped the few hundred feet in the span of 100 yards.
Well anyway , the workout was worth it.  We guiltlessly enjoyed some marshmellows on the fire that evening , while I drowned out the neighbors with my Droid`s music and my singing over it , serenading Lori  , despite her protestations.
  The next am , we kayaked Mauserts pond , which is not very large and was choked with water lilies ,  but still made for a nice scenic paddle.  We just missed an airborne animal splash the water as I turned a corner.  I swear I saw movement ,  yet no discernible features or colors.  Just a kind of shimmer of action and then Splash!  We never did figure out what kind of animal it was, though I say it was a flying otter.  After a quick brunch snack we drove home via the mohawk trail , picking up a few quick roadside geocaches.  Lori found most of them.  We ate at Shelburne Falls after a view of the glacial potholes. Lori had an open faced pot roast with gravy and tatoes that was very good.  I had a fish sandwich , with french fries (only the 2nd time I`ve eaten french fries this year)   It was warm and muggy so we skipped the greenhouse like , bridge of flowers.  We did do a quick 1 1/2 mile walk in Ct , at windsor locks canal , to make up for our extravagant lunch.  Its a nice walk along the ct river , or would be if it wasn`t so damn muggy , but anyway.  Thats a wrap , a good weekend.  I came home , took a quick nap on my hammock , and have relented and restarted my missed medication regime as I was a little more testy this weekend than I`ve been in the past medicated few ....I expect to stay on it through to the end of Fall , while undergoing cognitive therapy which has thusfar enabled me to think my way through my fits of anger and bouts of depression.  I intend to cure myself by December , exposing the cold winter season to a cool , calm , and collected Kevin.

Journal Entry - A new Leaf ?

Went camping this weekend , upstate mass , near Mount Greylock .  We stayed in savoy forest. We went despite the pending poor weather since we already rescheduled last week due to lightning storms.  Friday night , Lori and I , for the first time camped together , alone.
 We went up Friday night after work.  I got slightly lost , attempting to find the fastest way there.  The GPS also kept telling me to go some retardedly back-ass-wards way.   I didn`t get overly frustrated , I remained calm.  Eventually found our way , got there with just enough daylight to get the tent installed  , quik tarp contraption hooked up ,and bed blown up. The pump didn`t work unless it was plugged into the running car so I had to drag the bed and fill it up at an awkward angle in the brush.  When finally filled with air ,  It didn`t fit in the tent until I squeezed it and folded it as much as I could and then pushed for all my worth.  I did all this with a smile , I was cool , calm and collected.  We pulled out the bedding , the food , I started a fire despite the wet leaves and lack of kindling , got the grill out and hooked up the propane , we pulled out our clothes and books and lantern and flashlight. Essentially we emptied and installed our entire SUV onto this plot of dirt.  I cooked us up some hot dogs while we relaxed around the blazing fire I made.  We made some smores in it a bit later as we wondered at the multitude of stars.
  We slept pretty good.  Next morning it began to drizzle , we were unsure what the forecast was and had no service to check it on my Droid.  We drove a few miles down the road until I had service , saw that we had rain all day , thunderstorms over night and more rain the next day.  That essentially killed all mountain hiking plans. We decided that one night was a good test and we should pack it in and just do some scenic driving down route 7 towards home.    It wasn`t drizzling anymore like it was when we first considered packing it in.  We broke camp down in an absolute downpour. We repacked our SUV to overstuffed-edness as it is rare that camping gear folds back as neatly and tightly during the return process.
  I write this journal , not to describe our camping trip but to highlight the one difference between this event and the horrific vision Lori had of how this weekend was going to turn out.  That difference was Me , and my handling of the variety of torments.  I did not once , throw a hissy fit , nor have a melt down.  There was not one temper tantrum and I broke nothing.  I did not drive around like a maniac or yell and scream at Lori in frustration.  Nothing was thrown , kicked or punched.   I , through the power of mind , breathed deeply during many of these formerly rage-inducing situations , and resolved them with a calm smile.  I joked and laughed at situations that normally would`ve had me spitting.
  Its only Tuesday , But I was able to keep the same positive state of mind , all week. I`m much happier and hope to be able to keep it up .....forever.