Cabin Fever

During the 10 days that we stayed on base camp to obtain our Wilderness First Responder certifications, we stayed in very small cabins that each had 12 bunk beds. This was pretty much the only time where both crews were together for an extended period of time, but we still were split into two separate cabins and interacted mostly with our own crews. Try to picture the smallest possible structure that could fit 12 very narrow bunk beds and you might get an idea of what it was like. Add 12 large backpacks scattered around to that and things get even tighter. Luckily by then we had become fairly close as a crew and the close quarters were something we had become accustomed to. However, it is nearly impossible to be quiet in an all wooden structure. Chances were you weren't falling asleep until everyone else did and you were waking up with the first person to rise, which most of the time was about an hour before you yourself actually wanted to get up. It was one of those situations where the quieter you try to be, the louder it comes off.

There were several people in my crew who also snored. Out in the wild, this was not such a big deal because the sound had far to travel, but in the cabin it was a constant and intense hum of snoring. Thanks to my childhood and my Dad, I have some sort of innate ability to sleep through the worst of snoring. However, some of my crew mates were not quite as easy going about it. We also had some sleep talkers, but again I was pretty unaware of any of that.

The entire time during WFR felt like summer camp a little bit. It was definitely cramped at times inside the cabin, but it was also another really great bonding time for our crew. During this time, my crew realized how insanely organized I like to be. I had my clothes all neatly folded in piles next to my sleeping bag and I had neatly written our food menu for the week and posted it on the wall next to my bunk so that we could check off meals as we ate them. Needless to say, I was asked to organize lists, food menus and many other things for the remainder of course. The sick part is, I liked it.

It was definitely strange to be 50-100 feet away from Rich during that time and not really have much interaction with him, but we handled it quite well I think. Unfortunately for Rich, his sleeping pad suffered a hole that week and he was forced to sleep on flat plywood for the remainder of those few days. It's amazing what an inch of air can do for your comfort at night.