My First Solo Camping Trip and Homesickness at Presqu'ile

My First Solo Camping Trip and Homesickness at Presqu’ile

Someone once said, “You should pitch your tent at home and try it out before going on an adventure.”

Well, who would have thought that was sound advice? Not me, obviously.

I was mentally prepared for the heavy winds and the pelting rain, but not the feeling of being trapped in my tent.

1. I should have learned how to set up my tarp and have enough rope to do it with – to have a makeshift outdoor shelter.

My tent was perfectly set up to weather the storm, with the slim end facing the wind. However, the walls of my Big Agnes tent felt too close, even if the sound of rain pelting the fly was soothing to my ears.

With a tarp setup for shelter, I could have at least sat outside my tent with space to breathe.

Now, I always hang a tarp over my tent, giving more living space and tent options, like going fly-less on the tent!

2. I didn’t tighten my tent fly.

Had I made it through the night, the lack of tension in the tent fly likely would have become a problem, no matter how many tent pegs I had used.

Also, a peg mallet or hammer would have been handy – not every site has nice, soft soil to push pegs into!

This is a great place to point out that you could buy cord tensioners, but I recommend mastering the Trucker’s Hitch to easily adjust tension anytime it’s needed.

3. I forgot my pee bucket.

I already had some anxiety, but after lying in my tent, I had more anxiety than before. I started crying.

I cried as I walked to the comfort station at Presqu’ile Provincial Park in the pelting rain.

I cried as I walked back to my tent in the gathering darkness, realizing how far it would be to walk in the pitch dark, in the rain.

I missed my pee bucket.

My wee bladder was working overtime, and worse stormy weather had yet to come; the dark clouds were covering the sky to the horizon.

4. It’s OK to say you’ve had enough.

Know your limits so you don’t end up hating the experience.

I’m not ashamed to admit it, but my thoughts and stress got the better of me. As the rain came down, I tossed everything into the vehicle and drove off for home.

The contrast of dark clouds behind me and the light ahead made it feel like I was driving east into the dawn.

My anxiety eased, and I promised to practice tent and tarp setups at home before the next camping trip.

I didn’t regret coming home, but I couldn’t wait to try again.

5. Don’t listen to sad music

I had not considered the impact that music would have on my mental state when I drove to Presqu’ile. I had popped the Smashing Pumpkins (Mellon Collies and the Infinite Sadness), and the song that got stuck in my head was ‘Space Boy.’

Well, the refrain for this song (in case you’re not familiar with it) is “I just want to go home.”

How much I cried was absolutely, definitely, most positively accentuated by those words. I just want to go home, playing over and over in my head as tears rolled down my face.

These days, my top listed-to CDs in the vehicle are (The Best of) Bob Marley, Metallica (Black Album) and Soundgarden (Superunknown).

6. Try Again.

The following week, I went camping to Presqu’ile for a second time – and spent two nights camping in the park!

Of course, it helped that there was beautiful weather for my second attempt camping.

Going back so soon after my ‘defeat’ was great, and just what I needed to set myself up to look forward to the rest of the camping trips I had booked – especially with adding another tarp to my kit – and knowing how to hang it!