I bit off more than I could chew with this one. What was supposed to be a five-day backpacking trip was unfortunately cut to three days.
My Subaru Impreza flew down a dirt road filled with mud, water, and potholes. Yuki, as I have affectionately named my car, always gets me there. The last 25 miles or so of the road to the trailhead is not paved. My car shudders against the washboard road. I must swerve suddenly to avoid the potholes that are far too large for my low-clearance car to handle. My tires spit mud all over the white paint of the body panels. It admittedly looks badass. Yuki is no pavement princess.
The mountains stand tall against the cloudy sky that threatens to send rain and lightning down from its heights. The sun tries to do its before-dusk show behind the clouds, casting pink linings amongst the angry clouds. A single patch in the sky lets a beam of yellow light cast its golden glow on the land around me. I’m bookended by two hills. Green fields where a group of antelope run near the roadside, a little too close for comfort for someone going as fast as I am. A river winds and bends following me nearly the whole way. I’m trying to make it to the trailhead before dark, and I can’t stop on the patches of mud, or I will surely get stuck. Square Top Mountain is peaking out from the horizon directly ahead of me. Darker and darker still in the distance just beyond.
I was getting closer. I still had about 10 miles, but it was slow going because of the road. A camper van was kicking up dirt behind me, but I was moving faster. I’m in a cattle grazing area, so I’m not going crazy. Some cows stare at me with interest as I pass; some run. One that hadn’t been in my way intelligently decides to run in front of my car. I approached a stretch of road so full of water it was impossible to tell the depth, but a small patch of dry road swooped up to the right. The only problem was that a baby cow and its mama were standing there. Without stopping, I honked my horn and drove toward the dry patch. The mama cow and baby ran. Mama’s nipple pops from the baby’s mouth and a dribble of milk leaks down the baby’s chin. Oops! Sorry baby, I hadn’t realized you were nursing.
I get to the trailhead at almost 8 PM. I’d planned to sleep in my car and start bright and early tomorrow. I eat my sandwich and a bag of nacho cheese Doritos for dinner, brush my teeth and set my car up for sleeping.
My car camping setup consists of a twin trifold mattress with a memory foam mattress topper for extra comfort. I move the passenger seat all the way up and fold it as far forward as it can go. I put a bin between the seats to fill the space, stabilize the mattress, and double as storage. I fold the third part of the trifold mattress down and set up my pillows. I then put up my windshield cover and these little blue magnetic curtains with silver stars on the side windows.
As I watched the last of the sunlight disappear behind the mountains, and a few drops of rain hit my car, I fell asleep.
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