Tentsile meets SeeSaw
Liam and I left Owen and Danger at home and went off to Muju for some winter camping. Liam and I had to take a bus up to Derek's place. We were quite chatty on the bus, trying to figure out where to get off the bus. We had an enormous pack and the only seats available were in the very back. We managed to ring the bell and get off at just the right spot. Then we squeezed into Derek's car and drove up.
We set up two tents and went to sleep pretty quickly, since it was a rather late arrival. The temperature was dropping quite a bit, so we really dug in. When I stepped out of the tent in the morning, it was quite cold...probably minus 5-10, but it felt quite cold compared to our usual Busan weather.
Of course you carry on, because what else is there to do? The water was all frozen, but there was one under the table that was still liquid. I told Derek as much and picked it up and triumphantly shook it. He was complaining while I did it, telling me not to do it. I was confused until I took a look at the bottle, it very quickly before our eyes, turned to ice. "I've never seen that before," I said.
"I have," said Derek, "and now we only have ice, no water."
To top it off, the butane was too cold to cook properly, and we were in a site that had "No Fires" signs all over the place. Eventually, we compromised, and the manager of the camp site brought us an old oil drum that we could stand around like a bunch of winos. It was some welcome warmth.
Then the tree climbers showed up, and started expertly sussing out the trees and throwing lead lines up into the trees. While they put climbing ropes in the tree tops, and cut away troubling branches, Derek and I set up three more tents for the climbers to sleep in. Once everything was set up, we all got a lesson in how to climb up a vertical rope using a Blake brake and Prujick brake. I was mostly surprised that although those harnesses look comfortable, the are NOT :) Once I sat in the harness, it was painful and hard to breathe. I guess that is the trade off of not having to worry about plummeting to your death.
After dark, we all got together and each group had brought enough food for everyone, but we cooked it all and had a small party. It was nice to meet new people.
The following morning was equally cold, but looked like it might warm up...and it did, but was still cold. We got a late start, and got to climbing in order to take photos by about 1pm. We were packed out and driving at about 5:30. Luckily Derek was kind enough to re-route and drop Liam and I in our parking lot. We were both exhausted but also exhilarated.
We set up two tents and went to sleep pretty quickly, since it was a rather late arrival. The temperature was dropping quite a bit, so we really dug in. When I stepped out of the tent in the morning, it was quite cold...probably minus 5-10, but it felt quite cold compared to our usual Busan weather.
Of course you carry on, because what else is there to do? The water was all frozen, but there was one under the table that was still liquid. I told Derek as much and picked it up and triumphantly shook it. He was complaining while I did it, telling me not to do it. I was confused until I took a look at the bottle, it very quickly before our eyes, turned to ice. "I've never seen that before," I said.
"I have," said Derek, "and now we only have ice, no water."
To top it off, the butane was too cold to cook properly, and we were in a site that had "No Fires" signs all over the place. Eventually, we compromised, and the manager of the camp site brought us an old oil drum that we could stand around like a bunch of winos. It was some welcome warmth.
Then the tree climbers showed up, and started expertly sussing out the trees and throwing lead lines up into the trees. While they put climbing ropes in the tree tops, and cut away troubling branches, Derek and I set up three more tents for the climbers to sleep in. Once everything was set up, we all got a lesson in how to climb up a vertical rope using a Blake brake and Prujick brake. I was mostly surprised that although those harnesses look comfortable, the are NOT :) Once I sat in the harness, it was painful and hard to breathe. I guess that is the trade off of not having to worry about plummeting to your death.
After dark, we all got together and each group had brought enough food for everyone, but we cooked it all and had a small party. It was nice to meet new people.
The following morning was equally cold, but looked like it might warm up...and it did, but was still cold. We got a late start, and got to climbing in order to take photos by about 1pm. We were packed out and driving at about 5:30. Luckily Derek was kind enough to re-route and drop Liam and I in our parking lot. We were both exhausted but also exhilarated.
posted by Colin at 3:15 AM
