30 hours=1 day

Every week at camp, I get one 30-hour period of time off. In the second session I did not use my time off until the very end when I added the 30 hours to the weekend-long session break and was able to spend almost four whole days in Berkeley with Rebecca, Mark, Aubrie, Wes, and Sofia. Except for the sinus infection and being rear-ended on the freeway while driving someone else's car it was a great weekend...

Now it is the middle of third session and for my first day off I went with my two housemates, Jessica the social worker and Sharon the nurse, to camp in Tuolumne Meadows with a group of Sharon's friends. We got to the campsite long after dark but pitched our tent with ease and exhausted, I went to sleep after meeting everyone and a round of camping-style bedtime snacks while the rest of the group stayed up telling stories. The temperature, according to my alarm clock thermometer, was 23 degrees Fahrenheit and I drifted off to sleep I felt mildly victorious in my choice, despite the jeers and teasing of my friends, to bring my 20 degree bag to camp for the summer instead of something lighter.

The next morning after a lot of very slow breakfast preparation we set out across the meadow to the base of Lembert Dome, elevation 9,450 feet, and spent the next hours hiking to the summit and then as a reward afterwards lying around on the shores of Dog Lake. We made our way back down but not before meeting a couple on their way to the top, ages 79 and 80, who regaled us with tales of hikes they've made throughout the Western Hemisphere including one in Canada eight years ago which began with them being dropped off on a mountainside by a helicopter.

A dinner of barbecued Korean beef and grilled fresh sweet corn later, plus two rounds of s'mores prepared by yours truly, we packed everything back into Sharon's Honda and drove home to camp and our little house on the hill by the river. I realize compared to other people's outdoor exploits this 30-hour day off was mostly unimpressive but for someone who had only ever camped one other night in her entire 33-year life I was pretty proud of myself.