I have been camping as long as I can remember. When I was a child, my family would go camping on the North Shore of Lake Superior near Two Harbors, Minnesota. I took my first camping trip without my family when I was 12; it was my first Boy Scout campout. My lasting memories of that trip are that I brought waaaaay too much stuff and that my first Dutch-oven peach cobbler experience tasted great.

Since that trip, I’ve camped numerous times at a multitude of fantastic spots. With rare exception, they were Boy Scout outings, and they were almost always great fun. Two of those events stand out as my favorites: my second trip to the BWCA in 1997 and my trip to Philmont in 1998. If you’ve ever been to either location, you understand why those two are the best of the best.

Since Philmont, I haven’t done much in the way of camping. In fact, excluding the night I spent in a park in Pamplona, Spain, I haven’t done any camping of any kind since Joe’s bachelor party in 2003. Three years. That’s a long time. Too long.

That’s going to change tonight.

At the beginning of the week, I noticed that I had nothing planned for the upcoming weekend. Furthermore, I noted that “Go camping up north again” was on my long-term list of things to do. At that moment, I knew my fate: I would take a couple of vacation days and go camping.

My initial plan was to go backpacking on Isle Royale, which is something I’ve wanted to do for almost a decade. Sadly, it became obvious that I couldn’t pull off such a trip with only a couple days notice. It’s still on my list; I intend to spend a week on the island next summer. (In the off-chance that somebody else wants to go, let me know; otherwise, I’ll do it alone.)

With a firmer grasp of reality, I altered my plans to focus on the North Shore, particularly the Grand Marais area. I plan to stay at state parks and the like; while not as nice as the backcountry, state parks are far more conducive to last-minute trips. While I’m up there, I plan to hike the many trails, watch the numerous waterfalls, and absorb the view of the lake. The number one goal will be relaxation.

This will be the first time I’ve ever gone camping by myself. I can’t wait.