Weekend reset at Camp Awol

I didn’t realize how much I needed to leave until I started packing for the mountains. Again.

Neil recommended Camp Awol when we were still deciding where to go, two weeks before the set date. After that steak and Sierra Madre view, we thought it was a good idea to go camping and convene with nature every month. So of course, despite the outrageous fuel prices, we still went.

The campsite

Camp Awol is a good 4-hour drive from our hometown, and travel time varies depending on how fond your driver is of collecting speeding tickets. Unlike Nature Venture that boasts the view of the Sierra Madre mountain range and sea of clouds, this campsite showcased a magnificent soundscape—one that consisted of crickets, flowing river, and maybe birds and other animals I have no idea about. A symphony that drowned out the noise of human chatter and distant laughter. That kind of sound that you’d play on nights when sleep is elusive and you feel uneasy for no reason.

The food

While the whole point of camping is (in my opinion) to slow down and convene with nature, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity of doing it in not the conventional way, at least when it came to food. While barbecue, canned sausages, and hotdogs were the usual stars of the show in this almost man-made wilderness, we felt the need to level our meals with the previously enjoyed steak gourmet. Sugar decided that sizzling sisig would be fun to make and would definitely bring our camping experience to the next level. And it did, along with her well-seasoned pork belly barbecue.

The night

The night was longer, quieter, and cozier inside the tent. The policy included a mandatory 9PM lights-off, forcing us to be in our pajamas early, but not stopping us to have hushed conversations about nothing in particular. We watched the stars and took pictures of the moon and slept under the canopy of trees, which felt much safer than the hotel rooms I’ve been in. The soundscape lulled me to sleep, and while it was still sleeping on the ground, (despite the platform), my back didn’t cry as much as it did during my first camping experience.

The morning after

Of course we took pictures. Lots of them. By the river. By the tent. By the trees. It was one thing to feel and experience the nature, and another to record the memories. While I didn’t have the chance to do something creative in the middle of this calm, I brought my books and took pictures of them. Finally, Ian and Kovi found themselves in their natural habitat once more.

Here’s to more camping experience

Camping is my newfound hobby, and I won’t be able to do it by myself (I need a car or a motorcycle which I am just too hopelessly clumsy to operate and because I am PWD). It isn’t cheap (if you want high-end and quality equipment), and far from glamorous (steak and sizzling sisig aside). But it offers peace. The kind of quiet you’d crave after a week of the bustling city noise. It gives a chance to reboot. The kind of starting over you never knew you needed until it happened to you. And it encourages slowing down. Or even a pause. Because what else do you do when your phone has no service and you need to cook your own food?

Here’s to more camping experience.