June 3, 2018
When I was younger, I would often go to the river for days at a time and just travel up and down it looking for adventure, and let me tell you, there was adventure aplenty!
If you are looking for a place to enjoy your military surplus tent this summer, consider taking it out to your local river, setting up a base camp, and then enjoying the benefits that the river has to offer.
I can recall a particular excursion that I took one year along Four Mile Creek in Ohio. It was magical in many ways. The most memorable being the finding of several blocks of different grades of sandstone. I also found some pieces of slate and some dry deer bones. I spent several days making ornamental and utilitarian arrow heads from the slate and bones using only the pieces of sandstone. The river supplied everything I needed for sustenance in the form of fresh water and an ample supply of spear-able frogs and fish. Here are three reasons to camp a river this summer.
1. The river provides. As I mentioned already, the river offers you sustenance in many ways. Not only food, but materials, experiences, refreshment, entertainment, and opportunity. I have never been to a river bank that wasn't a veritable treasure trove of commodities.
2. The river draws.I have had my most memorable wildlife experiences along the river banks. The fresh water and plethora of game that it draws is alluring to ALL of the creatures of the forest.
3. The river makes memories.If you've never read any of Ernest Hemingways work about the "Big Two Hearted River", then you don't know what you are missing when it comes to the magic that a river holds.