A couple summer agos I got serious at trying to like summer camping. 'Water people' must wonder how somebody could be so dense. But of course there is no water in the western states and where there is, the camping comes with noise, crowds, fees, reservations, restrictions, and flying insects.
But the water people are right. Washing up before going to bed, with lukewarm water and soap on a washcloth, helps quite a bit. I haven't pursued the water bladder method of cooling my head or feet while sleeping. It would have been effective, but it proved more convenient to buy one of those mini-fans that have their own lithium battery: mounted near my neck and head, the cooling is adequate at low fan speed and noise.
The need to stay cooler forced me to renounce a long held prejudice about northern forests versus the ponderosa forests of the Southwest. Yes, ponderosa forests are easy to camp in. And they are visually appealing since you can see between the trees. But they are warm.
In the inland Northwest there are plenty of ponderosas, but if you gain a little more altitude you hit thick spruce and fir forests that are so dense they are blackish. I used to call them claustrophobic and depressing. No more. Their shade is so dark they make you feel 5-10 F cooler than ponderosa forests. My current campsite is so dark I have to run lights in mid-day. In mid-summer the sun is so vertical that you only need 2 hours of sun hitting your solar panels. And it isn't so bad if you have to move 10 meters to get out of or into the shade as the day progresses.
Indeed, Santa "Sombra" is the patron saint of summer campers.
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My first miniature poodle, Pancho, says, "Yea, yea, it's only a dry heat my butt."
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| Horse sense in NM. |
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| Wonder what the temperature gets to on metal rooves? |
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| A spot of merciful shade for my first and second dogs. |
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| It's nice to see experienced Westerners at a music festival in NM. In contrast, a newcomer would burn their heads by not even wearing a hat, and giving themselves away with their cliche about "It's only a dry heat." |
Eli Wallach in "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly:"
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| Even in winter, Arizona offers deadly chiaroscuros in the desert. |
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| By late summer this is what much of the West looks like. |
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