My mattress was about three inches thick. As my hand dangled over the side, I suddenly felt water. This was wrong. I awoke with a start. It was pouring outside. I realized that there was two inches of standing water inside my tent. Further exploration told me that everything in the tent not on the mattress was saturated: my purse, extra outerwear, daytime clothing, Kleenex, book…
My sleeping bag and pillow were dangling over the edge as well, soaking up the puddle that my tent had become. I had to get up to pee anyway, so I stuck my feet outside my tent to put on the shoes I had left there. They were floating. I got on the soggy shoes and splashed through the water to dry land. The entire tent was now in a puddle about 6 inches deep.
No point in trying to go back to sleep amidst the soggy bedding, I decided. So I splashed back and forth, rescuing my saturated gear and stashing it all in large garbage bags. Loading dripping bags and myself into the car, I snoozed for a few hours and waited for the dawn.
When it got light outside, I hopped out of my car. I was ankle deep in water. I saw that my entire campsite had become a small lake. It was still raining heavily.
So I did what any intrepid traveler would do. I headed for home. It had been a fine adventure.
copyright 2021 Amy Racina
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Because Amy is an intrepid hiker and traveler, she has many a story to tell about her adventures. Take, for example, her Angels in the Wilderness: The True Story of One Woman’s Survival Against All Odds.
From Amazon:
“This book is a first-person account of a disaster on a solo hiking trip. Author Amy Racina was hiking in a remote part of King’s Canyon National Park in California’s Sierra mountains when she lost the trail. With no warning, she suddenly fell sixty feet, breaking both legs on the rocks below. She survived for four days and nights, battling pain, fear and exhaustion, pulling herself along with her hands and refusing to give up. She was miraculously saved…”
