Epic Self Reliance!

Wednesday, September 2 to Friday September 4, 2026

Written by Roger

Sunset at Charlseton Lake before dinner!!

Well, I’m learning! On several fronts at once!

Based on a few factors, this college move-in season I was uninvited from the party, and willingly so! Last time I did this (my oldest moved in three years ago) I’m not sure I was as helpful as I could have been, and given my left handedness now, I’d be useless in the face of the evil Ikea! Truthfully, I’m not sure I could think of something I would less like to do than putter around Kingston preparing to move in to university dorms. Rather than hover around the edges, as I did with Bryce, I went out to camp at Charleston Lake outside of Kingston, and it was fantastic! Good for Gav and Wendi and great for me!

I had two nights with a fire and dinner and lazy mornings with breakfasts, albeit at noon on the first morning! I spent the first night setting up camp. Man, it takes a long time to get the barbecue and stove out, to gather firewood, and to cook dinner. It sounds like a simple feat, but with one hand and one and a half feet it is no small task. But, slowly, but surely I got set up and I even got a good fire going.

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Tonight’s menu for dinner included 4 marinated chicken skewers! I made a delicious crudités  (raw veggies for you not in the know!) to go on the side and then I set about making the chicken.

Well, the first step proved quite difficult with one hand… getting 4 individually wrapped and vacuum packed skewers out of the package, and with just one hand it was no small feat! Note to self: always look carefully at the package and make sure you have a detailed plan for getting the damn things out! Imagine a one handed chef, unable to pull up his sleeve (duh, I didn’t have my sidekick there!), trying to use a knife, left handed, to open the vacuum packed skewers. 10 minutes later, and covered with what felt like a whole chicken worth of juice, I had 1 out… the next three were no easier! 

Alright… I had all four on the grill, and so what if the first one went on about 20 minutes before the last one, they were on low, or so I thought! I went in the camper to attempt some serious clean up as I had raw chicken all over me! Now, think about a one handed chef who has to clean his left, “active” hand… he looks lamely down at his right hand, whose name is “Johnston” by the way, and Johnston steadfastly refuses to participate! So, it is the left hands job to do everything, including clean himself! By the time I had finished that task another 10 minutes had gone by… the chicken ought to be ready! It was dark out by now, so I turned on the light on the outside of the camper only to reveal smoke pouring out of the BBQ. Oh God these babies were turning into a real adventure! I turned the BBQ off and lifted the lid to reveal 4 chicken satays, or so I assumed. They were so blackened that they could have been anything, other than chicken that is! I sat down by the fire and took a DEEP breath… dinner was done. While it wasn’t a 5 star production, it was my dinner, cooked outside, and that was a big success! 

I had a lazy sleep in the next morning and an even lazier coffee and breakfast! After last night’s dinner, I needed a serious sleep in and slow motion morning! I finished cleaning up around 1 o’clock, hardly a time to be proud of, but who cares… No one was looking!! I had a long and lazy walk around the campgrounds, exploring the many beaches and trails between them.

This time I planned better, I cooked dinner in the light and that made a heck of a difference! I made a nice fire while I cooked, and steak and corn were on the menu tonight! Now that was more like how dinner should be cooked! I buttoned up our campsite and had an early night. I had plans for tomorrow!

I woke up, packed up, made breakfast and eventually got out of camp. I had scoped out nice looking hike the night before of just about 3K and when I got to the parking lot, it said the trail had just a few slightly technical uphills and downhills, I was feeling really good so I went for it.

Well, it was worth it and at the same time not so much! I walked along the trail to the lake and came across some awesome limestone outcroppings, including cliffs and cliff dwellings. It was really cool! The trail edged along the mouth of these outcroppings and then down to the lake where it snaked along the shore. Snaked is in italics for good reason! It wasn’t long after I hit the shore that I saw in front of me a massive snake. It was just about 6 feet ahead of me, going the same direction I was, and right on the side of the trail. It was a BIG snake… about four feet, maybe five! I walked slowly behind it while it slithered right parallel to the trail with the lake on one side and a high outcropping of rock on the other side. I was trapped and couldn’t pass it. I just had to wait for it to get ahead and find a crevice to hide in. Finally, it did and I passed on another outcropping. What an adventure!

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Not far ahead, the trail turned steeply uphill, and away from the lake. It looked like a bit of a rocky adventure, but I thought I was up for it. I looked up and ahead and… Whoops, I lost my footing and I fell backwards down the hill. Oh shit. Wham! I hit the ground backwards with my head downhill. Once I caught my breath from getting the wind knocked out of me I slowly inched my way back to sitting on some sharp rocks and took stock of my situation. I felt something on my middle back that didn’t feel great but after sitting for about five minutes, I got up to standing. Well, I thought to myself, I could climb this hill and scramble up the rock sections or I could go back the way I came past the snake and the rock outcroppings… What the hell, I’ll go for it!! I’ve got to get out of here somehow!

I carefully picked my way up the hill, going super slow and feeling my body and my legs out of the same time. It was tenuous, but I was feeling OK. I couldn’t lift my right leg quite as well as usual, and the side of my back was killing, but otherwise I seemed OK.

I forgot to take a picture of the scene of the crime, but on the way home I saw a leopard frog and a beautiful fungus growing on several trees.

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I got back to the camper, changed my shoes and took a moment to feel both super proud of myself and at the same time, in a ton of pain! I had completed my first solo camping trip, I had survived a chicken skewer disaster, I had prevailed over a five foot snake, and I had withstood a very nasty fall at the base of a big climb, and without my brace to boot! Holy cow! I was brimming with pride as I had headed to Kingston. I had to meet Wendi and Gav for a final dinner out before he moves in tomorrow.

Proud photo!!