Last Labor Day I went up to Vermont to try camping out in the Green Mountains. I had all my gear in my car, and everything packed on up for myself. It was my chance to finally escape, for two days before college started. In all honesty, I never revealed to anyone much of the details of what I saw and what I experienced: it was mostly a private experience that I felt did not need to be shared.

The first part of camping alone is the feeling that you are alone, and that your fate truly lies in your hands. It's not a fearful feeling per se, but one of excitement and adventure. You have your hands on the wheel heading out to an unknown area and then you start hiking off to the place where your going to spend the night—although, I just went for a drive-in campsite, and slept in my car during the Labor Day Campout.

Building a fire was probably the first big challenge. I have built plenty of fires in the past, but this one was different. It was not only my fire, and I had nobody else to help me, it was to be my biggest form of entertainment in a night where the sun was rapidly setting into darkness. There was some assorted litter around that helped me get the fire started, but keeping it fed was a constant challenge—I was searching for wood as darkness started to set in around me. I had gathered and cut some wood earlier, but with just a bow saw, and not nearly a big enough cache of wood, things went quickly. I believe I was burning mostly PineWood, which meant I had to quickly add more and more.

There was a lot of work to be done. This included moving my pack around in the car, setting up sleeping gear, and most importantly, more and more chopping of wood. I had hoped to keep the fire burning all night, to keep me company, as I sat in my car throughout the night. I guess I knew the work that camping had involved in the past, but to experience it solely myself, and to have to do all the work all myself was truly different—it was hard work, but liberating at the same time.

I was by a swamp, so there were all kinds of night sounds—if I recall correctly, the spring peepers were long gone by that point. It was a fairly cold night, and when I awoke in the morning, there was a slushy snow all around. The fire and warm clothes kept me warm in the evening, although hearing the Coy-dogs in the distance was a bit creepy. I really did not want to go to bed too early, as I wanted sleep throughout the night.

I really enjoyed camping out here, alone, with nobody around but myself to give me guidance and help myself through the night. I have camped many times with others, but never alone. I was totally sovereign, and I had nobody to rely on but my conscience and my own survival instincts. It was nice to get away, to be so free.