Back over Halloween weekend, we took Kylo Ren on perhaps his biggest adventure yet. We took him camping! We’ve been talking about camping with the cats for a while and even did a practice run with Sophie and Kylo in our yard back in April. We ultimately decided to just bring one cat since it was our first time camping with a cat, and we settled on bringing Kylo because he is hands down the best traveler. He always makes himself right at home whenever we get to a new place, so we figured he’d adjust to tent living more easily than Sophie or Gryphon.
We booked a private campsite on HipCamp in a small little town just a little over an hour’s drive from us. We didn’t want to go too far from home in case things went south and we had to abort the mission and head home. Thankfully that didn’t happen!
On Friday, we arrived at our campsite, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, and set up the tent. It was already later in the afternoon, so we decided to just hang at the campsite for the rest of the day and give Kylo a chance to get settled. Bobby built us a fire, we cooked some vegetarian hot dogs, made s’mores, and relaxed.
We eventually moved to the tent to read and wind down for the evening. That’s when things started getting interesting. Packs of coyotes began yipping and howling in the distance. They carried on the entire night too!
It also got down in the mid-40s that night. Even though we were prepared with tons of blankets and a fleece coat for Kylo, we were all still pretty cold. For the first time ever, Kylo slept under the covers curled up right beside me.
Poor Kylo didn’t get much sleep that night, and as a result, neither did I. The continuous sounds of the coyotes had him on edge all night. He’d relax for a bit, but then he’d hear something and perk up beside me, which woke me up every time (I’m a very light sleeper).
We all got up the next morning, not very well rested. But we pushed on and headed over to nearby FDR State Park for a hike. We had never been before, but we will definitely go back again. The mountains and scenery were absolutely beautiful.
We went for a nice 4-mile hike that ended at a waterfall. I wouldn’t say the trail was highly-trafficked, but it was busier than what we are used to, so Kylo ended up riding in his backpack most of the way. He enjoyed the ride though!
After the hike, we headed back to camp for lunch and to get a little nap in. Then we headed back out with our canoe to Lake Meriwether for a sunset cruise. Canoe rides are one of Kylo’s favorite adventures. He enjoys the breeze and the calmness of being out on the water. It was a beautiful sunset too!
Then we went back to camp for dinner and went to bed early. We were all exhausted after such a big day! Thankfully we didn’t hear any coyotes that night, and it was 10 degrees warmer than the previous night. We all slept much better.
The next morning, we packed up everything and headed home. We did stop at Sprewell Bluff Park on the way home for one final hike! It was a nice way to end the trip.
After such a successful camping trip, we’ve decided we will have to do more of it. It’s too cold now, so we’ll have to wait for spring. Something to look forward to 🙂
Wow, what a big adventure! I would have been on edge with those coyotes too. But the rest of it sounded fun!
I agree, those coyotes would keep me awake too but we’re sure glad it ended up being a fun out n’ about!
dood…ewe iz WAY braver N uz…..
even tho we heer coyotee all de time; we iz INN de houz 🙂
de hike and de canoe trip tho waz awesum…glad ya got de trip inn bee for jan ewe arry when itz like MINUZ 40 !!! ♥♥♥
What an adventure ! Coyotes howling sounds scary though. Purrs
What a cool adventure for Kylo Ren. We love how he has his own tent. 🙂 But those coyotes sure can make a racket!
You are all brave. I shut the window when I hear coyotes yipping.
Kylo Ren is so very handsome!
What fun!! Good job Kylo
That was a great way to try out camping! Glad it all went well, well, except for the coyotes!