Landed in Bentonville
After driving across the country to the middle of Arkansas I have landed in Bentonville for the next 2 months. The first 7 days or so have been spent getting situated. For now, I am camping out at Coler Mountain Bike preserve. An absolutely gorgeous parcel of land complete with raised tent platforms, warm showers, epic mountain biking trails, and the Airship.
For the next two months I plan to bounce in and out of the campground, exploring the region, building up some business networks and sharing my experiences with you.
The start of the adventure has definitely been a bit colder than I had anticipated. I came to camp with my Warbonnet hammock and my old trusty Hyperlight Mid. That tent was given to me as a prototype almost 8 years ago for my trip to Alaska. It has served me well over the years, primarily as a fast an light shelter. Perfect for that scenario, but not so much for a base camp. It is nothing that is fundamentally wrong with the tent, but simply, it was not designed for that scenario.
With strong winds, monsoon rains, ice, snow and other crazy winter weather, I broke down and finally ordered my first Hilleberg, the Allak 3. This was huge expenditure for me, tapping into funds that I had not planned on spending this way. However, if I was to live out of a tent for the better part of 2 months, in the winter, with wildly cycling weather conditions, it seemed like the prudent thing to do.
I have long desired a Hilleberg, as they are built to a standard that is not seen in most other tent manufacturers. Their exploits and durability are legendary, and since I keep my gear for a very long time, an investment that will last a decade seemed like a sound decision. I could have opted for something cheaper, that would have lasted a third or half as long and ended up spending the money down stream, so all in all, I am good with the decision.
The tent is solidly built, incredibly easy to pitch and very roomy inside. Certainly more than enough room for one person and comfortable for two with dogs. To me, this will be a car and kayak camping shelter and not one that I would use for any form of solo human powered expeditions. It is simply to bulky in my opinion for those sorts of things.
Now that I am settled in, I hope to get this entire blog off the ground. I will be reposting some of my old adventure posts shortly as well as adding my current thoughts on life, gear, and photography. I hope you enjoy the journey.
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Peace-
life comes at you fast - an addendum
My plans to stay in Bentonville were shattered by the actions of a distracted motorist. It was one of the nicest days of the winter to spring transition, and while heading to the trails I was T-Boned by a car. While in the end, I survived, my plans were cut short and I was forced to head back to maine to recuperate.
To this day, a year later, I am still struggling with the pain in my knee and the ache in my heart. I know that eventually I will physically recover, although, unfortunately I was hit on my left side with my left knee taking the brunt of the impact. This damn knee has been through hell and back over my 50+ years of life. Casts, dislocations, surgeries,… Ironically, I had never felt better riding a bike that spring day, and now, well it is a bit of a struggle physically.
The bigger impact to me was on my mental state. For the first time in quite a while I had a new plan, a new vision for what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. I was so fucking excited it still brings tears to my eyes. This past year has been a rollercoaster both physically and emotionally. Hopefully I have made the turn. I am still confused about my path forward, but am confident that if I continue to look inwards, try and grow as a human being, the path will unfold before me.
On my trip up the Inside Passage I developed a saying that got me through some very tough stretches. It goes like this: “I was never not going to be here” — It gives me strength when I find myself questioning my life.
