After a summer of solo travelling with the kids I told my husband I wanted to take Labour Day Weekend to myself. Two full days of not meeting the constant demands, of uninterrupted sleep, of silence. I tried to get my girls together but they were unable to ditch their kids too. So I headed out for the mountains in my Aunt’s camper van for some solo camping.
Because of the long weekend, all of the bookable sites were full. I decided to head out to Castle Provincial Park and try the Lynx Creek campground because it was first come, first serve site. Before hitting the campsite, I hiked to Haig Lake at Castle Mountain Resort which was gorgeous (a recap to come).
The road to Lynx Creek is a long, narrow, gravel road. As I drove it felt like I was never going to get there. At one point, I stopped a passing car to make sure I was headed in the right direction. Alomng the way, there were a lot of people set up in the free campsites which made me nervous for what the campsite would have available.
LYNX CREEK
Imagine my delight when I pulled in to an empty campsite! Only two other campers in the whole place. It makes sense, this particular campground is surrounded by free back country sites so why pay to stay in a campground? But as a solo camper, I preferred the extra peace of mind of being in an official campground.
There was a herd of cows in the campsite who kept me company. Anyone who knows me, knows I’m a talker, so the silence of being on my own for a day was tough. I spent the rest of the day reading in my hammock and chatting with my buddies.
I never did make it down to the actual creek. So I’ll have to come back to this campground and get down there next year.
SOLO CAMPING HIGHLIGHTS
There really isn’t too much to recap. It was a weekend of peace and quiet, a few of the highlights include;
Hiking! I hit Haig Lake and Star Creek Falls. Star Creek Falls really doesn’t qualify as a hike, but it was fun to scope it out for taking the kids.
Hammock Time! Reading for hours, with a good red wine and a good book? PRICELESS!
Campfire. It took me an hour and a half to get a campfire going because of the wind. Most people would have given up but I was determined!
Road Tripping Alone. Driving long distances with little kids is trying. But alone? It’s a delight! You listen to podcasts and sip on coffee or water. The drive to and from the campsite was relaxing.
TAKE TIME OFF MAMA
I’ll end this short recap with a word of encouragement to all the stressed out moms. Taking a weekend aline like this sounds super selfish and self-indulgent, but you can’t go on burning the candle at both ends. Your kids will be fine and you’ll all appreciate each other more for that time off.
Has anyone gone solo camping before? How did you like it? Yay or Nay?
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