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Week 49 (9.16.01 - 9.22.01)

24 Hours of Solitude
I think that it would be a good idea for Scott to go somewhere outside, maybe by a remote lake or another secluded spot, and spend 24-48 hours there by himself. No food, no water. I come from the perspective that when all outside stimulation is shut off, it forces a person to look within and around. By stopping food and water, it would tell his body and his mind that this is a different place, a very different place. Oh sure, it may not be easy, but looking at oneself, your Creator, never is.

 

Diary of the Journey

All times are approximate based on sun position (which was difficult to determine through rain, clouds and the dark of night).

4:00 PM - I'm dropped off in the pouring rain at Frontenac State Park. I walk back to a walk-in campsite carrying only a sleeping bag and sheet of plastic. My pockets are empty except for a pack of menthol cigarettes and a book of matches (as specified by person submitting the assignment, according to the curators). I am not permitted to build shelter, a fire or seek food or water.

4:05 PM - I sit down in a relatively barren campsite in the pouring rain, time come to an almost complete stop. I spend the next half hour watching an earthworm cross the site.

4:30 - It's in the low 50's, the wind has picked up and I'm starting to get cold. I wander into the brush beside my campsite and find a protected mossy hillside that becomes my primary place of solitude for the the duration of the project.

6:30 The clouds are breaking, the rain has stopped and the sun is beginning to fade. I sit in the lotus position staring into a wall of dense trees and brush. I talk to the world and practice deep breathing relaxation exercises and my mind races. I work through memories of everything from childhood to the World Trade Center attacks of the previous week. It's a strangely wonderful warm blur. I'm totally content.

7:45 As I lay back and watch the sky cycle from day to night I notice distant lightning and decide I should return to the site and prepare for night. As I stand and begin my way back to the site I realize that it is quite a bit darker than I had thought. I'm slightly disoriented, but eventually find my way back to the site. It is dark enough that I have difficulty locating my dark blue sleeping bag under the tree where I left it. I wrap it in plastic, take off my rain-gear and climb in for the night.

9:00 The first thunderstorm hits with full force. I'm frightened at first, thinking that I am going to be hit by lightning or a falling tree. It's raining really hard and I fall into a hazy state of sleep.

11:00 (approx..) I am awaken by a second storm which is more violent than the first. The wind really kicks up and I do my best to tuck in the plastic so it doesn't blow off or worse away. I am doing my best to stay relaxed, try to sleep and tolerate the conditions.

1:00 A third thunderstorm rolls in and it is blowing hard and pouring torrentially. Suddenly I felt very wet inside my bag. I reached down to waste level and discovered that there was at least three quarters of an inch of water actually inside my bag that gathered in a low spot. My bag was soaked as were my socks and my polyprop underwear. I was getting cold fast and I had to get up. It was still raining when I searched for my rain-gear in the darkness and got redressed.

1:30 I had to do something other than sit in the pouring rain. I head out of camp and walk a mile and a half to ranger station hoping to call Kris who is staying in a nearby town. Upon my arrival I discover that the station is dark and that the phone only accepts phone cards. I'm pretty upset at this point, feeling trapped in the cold and rain. The sign on the door says the ranger will return in at 9am. Seven hours from now.

2:30 With no other apparent options, I turn back, break open the pack of cigarettes, light one and start back. I'm feeling defeated and almost in tears. The rain begins to diminish and a warm breeze starts to blow. I start to feel a bit more confident.

3:00 I leave the road and start to head into the walk-in camp area. I walk for ten minutes in almost complete darkness. After a fifteen minutes I begin to realize that it can't be the right, knowing that it only took ten minutes to originally walk in. I decided to turn back and slowly made my way back to the main trail. Another storm was quickly approaching and what used to be dark was quickly fading to complete blackness. I came upon a sign pointing to the walk-in camps and headed down the path. Walking down a steep path into the woods I once again began to feel lost. The rain started to pick up again, I slipped in some mud and was suddenly totally disoriented. I held one hand in front of my eyes, scared of branches and felt my way around with an extended foot. I had totally lost track of the trail and my heart was racing. I was hoping I was not going to have a heart attack there in the blackness. I was getting ready to sit down and wait for daybreak. It was getting dangerous blindly wondering around on steep paths.

 



Setting off in the rain

 

 

 

 


In my rain-gear on my hillside home

 

 

 

 


As found by Kris 24 hours later

 

 

 

 


First delicious swallows of water

 

 

 

 


The beautiful Fall landscape of colors

Note: All photos were shot by Kris before or after the 24 hour project period.

Moments later I regained my confidence and slowly felt my way back to the main trail. The correct trail was just a few feet away and so was my campsite, just like the stories I've read about the climber who gets lost and dies just a few feet from his site.

3:30 Upon returning to camp in the rain, I decide to once again retreat to my sleeping bag, this time in full rain-gear and rubber boots. I pass out almost immediately, lying in my bag in the pouring rain. Thank God for Holofil.

9:00 I wake up freezing with my teeth chattering. It's cold, overcast and very windy. Realizing that I have another seven hours to endure, I once again decide to head to the ranger station and attempt to call Kris. I pack up my bag and head out.

Halfway to the station I wake up fully, warmth returns and I see a path off to the side of the road I'm think heads back to camp and cut back to it. At this point I'm once again feeling strong an committed. Close to camp I come upon a beautiful apple tree filled with huge red apples. I take it as a sign, a gift and pick two apples, one for me and one for Kris. I eat my apple as I return to my site. Still very cold an wet, I am confident.

11:30 After spending a what seems like a couple hours in my mossy hideaway I am too cold to sit still any longer and go for a hike along the St. Croix river. It's cold but beautiful. Bald Eagles and hawks are soaring everywhere above the bluffs of the river on their way south for the winter.

1:00 I return to camp and begin to wait for Kris to come. I'm too cold to return to the meditative state of the prior evening. I spend most of my time watching squirrels, birds and spiders.

4:00 Kris walks into camp and scares the hell out of me. She has a bag containing a bottle of water, turkey sandwiches and chips. We chat and eat together. I realize just how numb I really am both mentally and physically. I give her her apple and we walk back to the truck to head home. The drama is over. I have been tested. I have been taught. I have learned a lot about myself and the simple, yet powerful drama of life.


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