A very last minute decision to go on a short 5.5 mile hike and camp near a quiet lake in an area I have hiked by a few times but never camped at. The weather reports were calling for severe thunderstorms with heavy continuous rain fall from early evening,  throughout the entire night and into the morning- afternoon the following day.  So i was that close to calling my planned trip off. Originally I wanted to spend the full day hiking 20+ miles  and sleep wherever I ended up,  but as the morning came for me to leave and the weather reports turned even worse conditions,  I pretty much decided to cancel my trip.  But then I pondered,  its been a while since I had the chance to go hiking and camping,  I really needed to get out there and spend some kind of meaningful time in nature. I have all the necessary gear to be out there in any conditions. I was going solo anyway, so no one else to worry about but myself.  Why not change my plans slightly and just do a shorter hike to a spot I have passed a few times and always thought it would be a nice spot to camp?  I packed my bigger tarp,  Borah Gear 7×9 silpoly tarp and figured I would use my MLD eVent bivy just in case the conditions got really bad out there. They did!  It ended up being a beautiful day hiking in, partly sunny and mid 70s. When I reached my planned camp spot,  I immediately pitched the tarp and attached my bathtub ground sheet and laid out my bivy with synthetic  quilt in it.  It was so nice out that I decided to pitch my tarp rather hi up so I could sit under there with plenty of room to get out of the 🌞  sun. I was also skeptical about using the ground sheet but then said to myself,  well it is supposed to be windy and rain very very hard all night long, and I did carry it in, so may as well attach it and use it,  it is so simple and quick to set up and break down too.  Whew’ good call with that too!  It got pretty nasty overnight.  I had a beautiful doe pass near my camp,  a beaver playing in the serene lake swimming and diving and splatting its tail, many butterflies fluttering about and just as the sunset and it began to drizzle,  I was serenaded by a beautiful song bird for a solid 4- 5 minutes long non-stop loud whistling.  I went to sleep so peaceful and comfortable with spectacular views of the lake and forest and with nature and animals all around.  I do love sleeping under my tarp and I was so happy I decided to do this.  I heard the rain pitter patter on my tarp,  I love that.. and i fell asleep. Suddenly my tarp blew away.. totally gone and the wind ripped and the rain was so intense and loud!! I woke up abruptly..  oh my.. it was a dream, thankfully.. but oh my goodness.. the rain was teaming so hard I could not believe what I was seeing and hearing.  The wind too was blowing and driving the rain horizontally.  The exact situation one does not look forward to being in under a tarp at 2 am alone in the middle of the mountains, unprepared.  I was prepared for this and expected this so part of me was excited and happy.  I went back to sleep cozy in my bivy tucked in my synthetic quilt without a worry. I woke up in the morning and it was still raining pretty hard but nothing like overnight.  My bivy was soaked outside and the bathtub floor was a bathtub 1/2 full of water. I was basically sleeping in a deep puddle of water. The ground outside was saturated and flooded.  I was bone dry and warm and comfortable inside the bivy. It worked! The eVent bivy saved my life a few years ago during a winter snow storm when my tarp got shredded to pieces overnight.. and now I can attest that it is water proof in the heaviest rains I have ever slept outside in.  The reality is I should have pitched my tarp much lower then it was, but I wanted it hi up so I could sit and be comfortable under it.  Part of me also wanted to see how wet I would actually get if I did leave it pitched hi up like that.  Its these conditions when I appreciate my MLD synthetic quilts.. this one happened to be the Vision quilt I was using.  A few years ago I decided to sell my down quilts and only use synthetics.. since I live in the NE and sleep in a bivy,  sometimes not,  sometimes under a tarp, sometimes not,  in snowstorm,  rain storms and summer humidity.. my pack weight and kit is so dialed in that it just made sense for me and ever since I have no regrets, only comforts.  The rain slowed up so I decided to break camp and head out before it got nasty again. Took me about 15 minutes to break camp and start hiking. Immediately I encountered my first of many situations.  This hike was along many creeks and streams with many crossings.  The torrential rains had flooded every thing.. includeding the trails. I was hiking in ankle deep COLD water about 60% of the time and all of the creeks and streams were now mostly raging whitewater and cascading water falls,  a very dangerous situation when it came to crossings. I had to reroute my trails a few times to make it out safely,  especially since I was solo. I was so happy I made the right decision to go! I can only stress that had i not had the experience or proper gear for these conditions I most certainly would NOT have even considered going,  especially solo.  I know the area i was hiking and camping in exceptionally well and am very familiar with the trails, and I did adjust my plans for short 5.5  mile hike in and out also,  keep that in mind. I would not recommend this unless one is prepared and enjoys precarious situations,  but I do recommend not letting bad weather stop you from enjoying nature.  I don’t love recording videos and I usually go with intent not too film too much, but I do enjoy watching my memories and looking back at my trips and seeing things I may have forgotten over time,  and also so family and friends can check them out too when wondering what im doing out there and why I go. So Here I post this report for anyone interested and I enjoy sharing my thoughts about my trips and the gear I use when I go out..

Blessing of the Falling Rain

“Danu, Mother, vast and wise-
Keeper of rivers, earth, and skies.
With falling rain, your touch is near,
Blessing life throughout the year.

Triple Moon, in shifting light,
Waxing, full, and waning bright.
Through turning tides and seasons’ flow,
The Wheel will turn, and life shall grow.

Earth below, drink deep and true,
Water’s gift in silver hue.
Air that stirs the stormy tide,
Fire within, our souls abide.

With rains embrace, the roots run deep,
The earth awakens from her sleep.
With open hearts, through ebb and flow,
We walk in balance, blessed to grow.
Blessed Be”