I had been staying at the beach in South Carolina, but decided I wanted to find a place to camp. I found a free campsite about an hour away, in Gresham, at the end of a long dirt road. It seemed to be in the middle of nowhere and I was happy about that. It was beautiful land with mostly tall pines that stretched towards the sky. There seemed to be a lot of old growth and new growth in the forest, but not much in between. Although the land was beautiful, it had an eerie feeling to it. To my surprise the campsite had a large pavilion with a fire pit by the edge. It also had a counter area with a large outdoor sink. The sink had a big red Hand pump attached to a pipe that went straight down into the ground. When I tested the set-up out by pumping the handle, cold, clear water came running out.
I set up my tent in a little corner of the cleared lot. It would be getting dark soon, so I collected branches off the ground to use for firewood. There were plenty that had fallen off the trees in the lot, and it wasn’t long before I had enough. I started a little fire in the pit as the sun set. The wood and leaves were so dry that I got it started quickly. I used a metal frying pan I took on my travels and cooked a rice dish right on the fire. After eating I grabbed the book I was reading, “Ishmael,” and read by the light of the fire. Eventually I retreated to my tent where I did a little drawing before I went to sleep.
The next morning I made coffee and oatmeal on a small propane burner. A few trucks drove by here and there, which surprised me since I was at least ten miles off any real road. It was a bit chilly that morning and Maggie kept shivering, so I put her little pink hoodie on her. She always hated clothing before, but seemed to enjoy it, maybe realizing it was keeping her warm.
I cleaned out my car, read some more, and collected wood to have another fire that night. I noticed that a lot of the wood I had first grabbed off the ground was burned. I initially thought they were just pieces that were cast aside after another campfire, but as I collected more, I realized that almost all the wood I collected had previously been burned. The bottoms of the surrounding trees also had burns stretching up the bark.
As I puttered around I kept running into giant, creepy spiders. The spiders of the south seem bigger and more terrifying than the ones I’m used to. I also didn’t think about the fact that leaving my tent open throughout the day so Maggie could come and go as she pleased would be turning the spiders into my roommates. Since I did not want roommates at this time I gently put the terrifying beasts back outside.
That night as I was starting a fire a truck drove up. There were two men inside with heavy southern accents. We introduced ourselves and they asked me, “ aren’t you scared to be staying out here all by yourself?” I told them of course not, there isn’t much that scares me. They told me they were out in the woods hunting for raccoons with their dogs, and that they hunted for them almost every night. When I asked them what they did with all those raccoons, to my surprise they said they sell them to people to eat. I’ve never tried raccoon myself, but they said it tastes good, better than chicken. Maybe I’d give it a try if given the opportunity.
I asked them about all the burned trees. They told me that there were wildfires set purposely every year to maintain the forest. That made me sad at first, and explained the eerie feeling. It seemed a forest couldn't be happy or thrive if it's always being burned. But then I learned active management by controlled burning can promote healthy trees and protection from catastrophic wildfires. Increasing the spacing between trees and bushes, and removing dead and fallen vegetation creates a better chance for healthy trees to withstand an uncontrolled, devastating wildfire.
Before the two men drove off, they asked me if I needed anything, and told me where they lived in case I ran into any trouble or needed help. They also told me that they would stop and check on me every night they were out, which I thought was really nice. I love being alone in the woods, but it can get a bit lonely. It's nice to see another person here and there.
The next day I decided to go out and explore the land. It was a bit of a struggle. There were a lot of prickers. Also the new growth was very thick, making it hard to walk. I saw little cactuses growing here and there, which made me smile. I used to have the exact same cactuses back home growing in a pot; I’d never seen them growing in the wild before. After wandering for a while I realized I didn’t really know where I was. Normally I don’t get lost in the woods, but I'm not used to such thick brush, so I hadn’t been paying attention. I didn't panic though. I figured my only option was to just keep going. Maggie and I kept walking until we eventually came to a dirt road, which led us back to our campsite.
I collected more firewood. It was supposed to rain the entire next day, and I figured that if I wanted to continue having fires, I should put some under the pavilion to stay dry. I collected a ton of wood and piled it under cover. Maggie “helped” me collect wood by tugging at the sticks I carried and picking them up from my pile to relocate them. I also moved my tent under the safety of the pavilion since no-one else was camping nearby. I figured it would make it easier to get up in the morning if I could step out while staying dry. I got a fire going easily that night. The men who were raccoon hunting stopped by again, just like they said they would.
The next morning I was so glad I had moved my tent under cover. The rain was coming down hard, and it was nice to have a place to stay dry. Maggie was not impressed by the rain, and returned to the tent rather quickly to curl up in the sleeping bag. I made breakfast and decided that I might as well spend some time at the library.
As I was driving to the library, I passed a store with a huge sign that said: “Souvenirs, Pecans, and Fireworks.” It seemed rather strange and a bit random to me, and I decided to stop. I found out that pecans are a big thing in the South. They have these nuts in every form and flavor you can imagine. I shopped around a bit, and got a few Christmas presents while I was there. I spent a little time at the library, using the time to work on my blog, then swung by a grocery store so I could get eggs to cook for breakfast. By the time I arrived back at my camp, the rain had mostly stopped. I was able to get a fire going with the dry wood I had collected. I wanted to make a sweet treat over the fire, but my options from my car were limited. I ended up taking a banana, cutting it down the side and filling the peel with chocolate chunks and peanut butter. I put it in a pan and placed it over the fire. Once the chocolate had melted and the banana and peanut butter had become gooey, I ate it out of the peel with a spoon. It was surprisingly good! I would definitely eat that again.
The next morning I made eggs for breakfast on my propane burner. I was glad I had collected firewood before it rained because everything around me was soggy. I spent the day puttering around and drawing in my tent. That night I took advantage of the fire in a different way. I got out paper and a pen, writing down negative thought patterns and tramas that I wanted to release and gave each one of them to the fire. I watched as the fire consumed my hurts, carrying each one away with the smoke.
I spent a total of five nights out in the South Carolina woods. I did enjoy my solitude, although it wasn’t as warm as I had hoped for. But after being alone that long, I was filled with excitement at the thought of seeing my friends and family again. Time away is nice, but it really makes you miss the ones you love, especially when you are hundreds of miles away from them.
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