I am finally back in Montana, where I began my off grid camping adventures, and it’s just as beautiful as I had remembered.
As pretty as the area around Beaver Creek near Logan Utah where I had been camping for nearly a month was, quiet it most certainly was not. I think that of all the busiest roads I’ve ever camped along, this was by far the noisiest of them all. As I had already discovered when first arriving to the Logan area, other places in the area are just as busy with nearly constant ATV traffic, so it wasn’t like I had picked the busiest road in the area. Rather, as I came to find out, there is apparently a shortage of places anywhere near Logan where one can escape the near-constant combination of 4-wheeler, motorbike and automobile traffic.
I had been planning to depart on Wednesday, but when I woke up to yet another morning of nonstop 4-wheelers roaring up and down the road, I realized I had apparently had quite enough of all the noise! I couldn’t take it any longer, and immediately after breakfast and a short bike ride, I began packing up my camp.
I had never seen so many 4-wheelers in my entire life, as I saw in one single day there in northern Utah, day-in and day-out! There would be strings of over a dozen 4-wheelers at a time zooming by, with only a minute or two before the next pair or train of ATVs made their rounds. Lots of trucks and campers rolled through too, but they are relatively quiet compared to obnoxious noise created by ATVS.
Obviously a Utah past-time, I realized, though it did make me wonder how so many people in a society with such a large percentage of the population living paycheck to paycheck could afford such expensive toys! One needn’t be in the city to observe the effects of people whose lives are caught up in the modern American materialistic society; the hundreds of high-end ATVs (along with all the trailers necessary to pull them all) was witness enough of all the expensive material possessions American’s debt can buy them.
I have nothing against those who enjoy an ATV ride, but the life of working to accumulate expensive material possessions is not for me, and I had certainly had enough of the great disturbance to the natural peace and quiet of the great outdoors they were causing.
So off to Montana it would be, where even the busiest campgrounds are never as noisy as I had come to realize the mountains of northern Utah in the summer constantly were.
Nothing like packing up camp in the rain and snow, but at least on Sunday during the bulk of my packing there were only scattered light showers. I woke up on Monday morning to soaked muddy ground and pretty heavy snowfall! I was able to make my coffee and breakfast in the mostly dry conditions under the canopy of large fir trees, but let me tell you it was no fun loading the car in such wet chilly conditions. I’ve never packed away a tent that was so wet, let alone in the middle of a snowstorm. At least I had a dry car awaiting me, and the bulk of my things were already put away the day before.
Some six hours of driving later and a few stops to stretch the legs and walk the dog, and I was arriving in Big Sky, Montana, with a nearly empty gas tank and empty bank account as well, having finally depleted all my funds. My last few dollars put a couple gallons in the tank, and off I headed to find me a campsite a few miles down the canyon. Just in time, Trump’s ‘stimulus’ has now arrived in my bank account, so I’ll be able to stock up on supplies and survive a while longer without an income, which is rather exciting news for me :)
Upon arrival, at least the skies were clearing, and I would be blessed with dry weather to set up my new camp along Moose Creek, a very beautiful and quiet area - surprisingly little traffic and fellow camping parties despite being the week of July 4th, the busiest camping weekend of the year (at least in Montana, that is). Campsites began to all fill up today, but still quiet as campers arriving were really the only traffic to speak of.
Despite the forecast calling for two more days of rain, I was happily surprised by a mostly dry cloudy first day in Montana to finish setting up my camp, and another partly sunny day with only a brief passing afternoon shower on Wednesday. This followed by a super gorgeous sunset!
Today has been a really nice and warmer day with completely clear sunny skies, and I can’t find the words to express just how awesome it is to once again have a quiet environment, with only a handful of cars tops driving by in an entire day! Amazing how much more beautiful nature becomes when the sounds of nature aren’t being constantly drowned out by the noise of passing ATVS - the sound of the running creek water, the birds chirping, the breeze blowing, the raindrops falling, the silence...
To top it off, I was lucky enough to have found one of the prettiest campsites of my entire 9 months living this camping lifestyle, and even secluded being a bit off the main dirt road with privacy that many of the campsites along this road don’t afford. I opted to traverse the sketchy entrance in trade off for such an ideal spot set off the road, with plenty of shade and a big meadow right next to creek.
And much to my surprise, after setting up my tent I realized I even happened to have picked the one campsite complete with a backcountry toilet!
I’ve never seen one before, but I thought it was pretty cool, with two thin logs making an actual toilet seat, and walls of fir boughs built up around it on three sides for privacy and giving it the feeling of being an all-natural outhouse. All I had to do was dig a nice deep hole out underneath the platform, add a few more scattered pine boughs to the walls, and I’ve got a fully functional, fully natural, outhouse.
Feels a little strange being back to the very place where this whole off grid camping journey began, considering it’s not really my ‘home’ anymore, as I have no plans at this time to settle back into a life in the Bozeman area, as price of housing is insanely ridiculously way too high in proportion to wages. I don’t know where I’ll end up going next, but I know several great places in the area around these parts I can camp at, so I’ll probably stick around the area for a month or two. I can probably get a little work from some old clients I know, even without all the tools and equipment I used to have.
Regardless, the scenery is phenomenal, while great mountain biking trails and backpacking destinations abound, so I’ll have no problem keeping busy for as long as end up staying.