Old School Camping in Foul Weather

 Well, the 2025 Spring season has turned into a wet one. Just a few weeks ago I was gearing up getting ready for some canoe camping adventures. Since then, we've had so much rain, my traditional canoe camping location has been inundated. Canoe camping is out of the question for now. Barren River Lake is currently over 25 feet above its normal summer pool. That is very near its flood stage level with more rain in the forecast. All the remote camping areas on the lake are underwater and the lake itself looks like chocolate milk. Not too inviting at the moment. We dodged a bullet just a few days ago when a strong thunderstorm passed through. During that stretch which occurred around 1:00 AM, a deluge of rain, literally a wall of rain, hammered our remote area, then it suddenly stopped. Behind it a little distance away, I heard a loud and steady roar that grew ever louder and closer. I got up and checked the weather station. At that very moment they were showing a large supercell with a well defined hook echo passing directly over where we live. It had a definite tornadic signature, but luckily it never produced a live tornado that touched the ground. My neighbor said he stepped outside at that time and could see the rotation of the clouds directly above.

So, what does this have to do with old school camping. Well, not much really, but because the weather has been so off the charts wicked the last few weeks, I've not been able to get out much. So I thought I would explore the roll of how Old School Camping in foul weather served as a learning experience on how to deal with adverse situations when pursuing a few moments alone out in nature.

One of the first true backpacking trips I ever made was way back in the mid-1980's. I worked a lot of hours back then so time to get away was sparse and far between. I decided I needed to get away and wanted to make a backpacking trip. The closest place was a small lake called Greenleaf Lake, just south of Muskogee, Ok. Roughly a 10 mile loop circled the lake and offered at least an opportunity to try out this backpacking thing.

My backpacking gear was rather old school at the time. The pack was a cheap frame type, pretty small actually, but I managed to stuff it and strap to it all the assorted gear I would need. The only modern thing I had was a Coleman Peak One Packer stove. I still have that stove and it still works great. I got a late start and didn't arrive at the trailhead until late in the afternoon. Maybe 3 or 4 hours of daylight remained and since I had never hiked this loop before I did not know what to expect. Not more than a half hour into the hike, an ominous dark cloud started rolling in from the southwest accompanied by lightning and rain. I hiked faster and faster trying to find a suitable location to camp before that storm caught up with me.

The trail in places was not very well marked and not heavily used, so I had to guess at times where to walk. As a result I managed to lose the trail several times, but eventually found my way to it again. At one one point I had to jump across a small, swollen creek. Thought I could make it without  removing the pack. I didn't. Went in both feet up to my knees in the creek. My boots and socks were completely soaked and from then on I hiked with wet feet that turned into wet blisters. As I looped around and headed in a more southerly direction the steepness of the terrain did not offer any kind of suitable camping location...and the storm clouds grew closer and closer, and the thunder grew louder and sharper, and the wind grew stronger and stronger. It was time to seek shelter so I picked out the most level spot, which was not all that level, and threw up my little tent as fast as I could. Just as I drove in the last stake to hold the tent in place, the skies opened up and I barely crawled inside before being completely drenched.

Trees all around me were swaying. Lightning followed by instant thunder remained constant. On and on it continued well into the night. I did manage to warm up a meal using that Peak One stove, which was not easy within the tight confines of that little tent, but man-o-man did it ever storm. I could hear tree limbs crashing to the ground and my little tent bent and swayed in the wind, but to its credit, I stayed mostly dry through it all.

Not much sleep followed me that night. Not until in the early morning hours just before dawn did the storm let up and I managed a hour or so of sleep. When I awoke, I could hear birds singing and rain drops dripping from the trees. I climbed out into a glorious blue sky morning. My feet were blistered. My gear mostly waterlogged. I was hungry and sleep deprived, but I loaded up and headed on down the trail. By the time I reached my vehicle several miles later, my blistered feet hurt so bad I could hardly walk, but I made it...through the storm and all.

I've had numerous run ins with foul weather on camping trips. Some of them were down right challenging to say the least. One of the most challenging occurred some years back when my good buddy Rocky and I were on a multi-day float trip down Arkansas' Buffalo River. We experienced just about every kind of weather you could possibly run into with the exception of snow...and we came close to getting some that too.

We started out with almost perfect weather. Upper 70's to low 80's. Blue skies. Not much wind. Those conditions proved quite deceptive and as we continued our trip, the wind kicked up. I have yet to figure out why it is, that no matter what direction you travel in on a float trip, the wind is always in your face. It proved true on this trip. Strong gusty winds pushed and shoved at us so much so we found it difficult to even try to fish. We were worn out by the end of the day. Then the temperature began to drop. Coupled with the wind, it grew quite chilly. Toward the end of the second day as that cold front worked its way across the landscape, storm clouds began to build, then the thunder, along with lightning. Some of the lightning was quite intense and way too close for comfort. Being exposed like we were, we deemed it necessary to get off the river until the storm passed. It took over an hour for it to work through and we sat, not having any other options, under a group of trees during that time. Eventually, we shoved off again, but by now the cold front had infiltrated and the temperature began to drop...and it got down right cold. Rain was still spitting on us and at times, that rain turned into sleet. It felt like snow was on the way, but fortunately only sleet and freezing rain taunted us.

That second night turned quite cold and I didn't have quite enough cloths for that kind of weather. By the next morning, a fire was pretty much out of the question as everything was soaked so we ate some oatmeal heated by my Peak One stove and shoved off again only by this time the river level started to rise. As it turned out, our last day involved just a few, although chilly, river miles of floating and we were able to pull out around midday.  We certainly experienced a unique few days on that trip.

You know, some of the most memorable outings seemed to always revolve around the weather. I suppose spending much time outdoors you just learn to adapt to what nature throws at you. The old school way of approaching it is perhaps the most rewarding way. 

Spring Season - The Hardest Season to Photograph

 Of all the attempts I've made over the years to capture the Spring season photographically, I've only managed to take one image that I truly like, and it's a black and white photograph. For some reason, I've never felt satisfied with the results of those attempts and I've struggle to figure out why. By all rights Spring should be one of the best times for a photographer with all the color exploding across the landscape. However, there is a gap between what my camera should be able to create and what I typically end up with. Let's take a moment to review this one image and why it seems to work, at least from my personal taste.

Dogwoods tend to bloom a bit later in Spring than other trees, but when they do, they create eye catching splashes of white scattered across the landscape. On this particular morning I returned to a location where I knew a row of dogwoods grew along the length of an old split rail fence. I, most likely like other photographers, have a habit of trying to capture the entire scene, in this case the trees and fence all in one image, with the result following a similar pattern where the images are simply ordinary with not much depth to the subject. 

The morning light filtered through a background of clutter to eventually encounter the dogwoods. I saw something in the moment and, as I often do, moved in a bit closer to frame a group of the blooms hovering above a portion of the split rail fence.  I allowed my eyes to find the composition and fired off a couple of quick shots. Taking a quick glance at the images I felt like at least one just might work and later on, after I applied some basic post processing the image began to develop a unique personality. It was only after I converted it into a black and white image with a small amount of sepia applied that the image leaped off the screen.

Spring photography is usually a time for color, but on this occasion, black and white worked its magic. To further enhance the image, I applied some Gaussian blur and using the eraser tool removed the blur on the front few blooms. Doing this added an element of depth and magic to the image. 

I've never been able to truly duplicate this process in other Spring photographs. I suppose it is because no two moments of light are ever the same and each one offers a unique opportunity. The difficulty lies in being able to recognize how any given moment of light wraps itself around a subject, and understanding that each one requires a unique perspective photographically. The Spring season by far demands more intense scrutiny from a photographer in order to capture the amazing opportunity it presents. I guess I'll keep trying and maybe someday discover how to capture this wonderful time of year.

A Nature Photographer's Personal Perpective

 It started oh so many years ago as a young boy growing up in Southeastern Oklahoma. Those days spent exploring the creeks and woodlands near my home set the foundation for my love of nature which lead to my eventually becoming a nature photographer.

This video is a personal perspective on that journey and explores what it means to be a nature photographer. 

Please enjoy...