A Sleeping Bag Full of Memories...
Maybe I'm a sentimental guy. Maybe I just really like my gear, or maybe I just get attached the "things" that have kept me happy and sane day in and day out.
Today, I'm giving an ode to that trusty sleeping bag. We all have that one bag we call on when the going gets rough. The story may not have started out like a match made in heaven. Heck, those first few times you took this bag out you may have reconsidered your purchase. Eventually though, after enough nights under the stars you won't give that thing up.
"Was it really that cold?"
"It's not light enough!", "It was 30 degrees last night and I got cold!", "I'm broker than broke because I bought this stupid bag full of fancy goose feathers"
That first trip out wasn't first love. The second may not have been either. However, weekend after repeated weekend you kept calling on this trusty steed to keep you warm and cozy while the sun took it's nightly run around the other side of the earth. Stars danced overhead, bears rustled in the bushes, and there you were, wrapped up in your sleeping bag thinking if you pulled the head enclosure tight enough that bear wouldn't be able to see you laying there like a fluffy burrito.
Remember that time last fall when after a long day in the mountains, following a cherished campfire you slid into this bag and happiness filled your heart? Yeah, your bag had your feet to your head and everything in between covered.
Or, how about that time last winter when you said. "Ehh, it'll never get thaat cold." But, instead ended up sleepless because it did actually get that cold and you didn't sleep at all waiting for the sun to pop up over the horizon.
A sleeping bag or a home?
Last but not least, that morning after camping on that mountain pass you've been dreaming of for months. In the morning however, nature struck and you ended up digging the worlds fastest cathole. Upon returning, the sleeping bag was one more big gust from going cascading off of a cliff. Thankfully, after a quick reaction and a lull in the wind, it was saved.
Trip after trip, the sleeping bag gets more worn, and to be honest we like it that way. With the duct tape holding those fluffy feathers from flying out into your tent, to the way the zipper wanders a little when you open it up to settle in for the night. It builds character. It builds memories. Your bag has stood through the good times and the bad.
So, maybe i'm just a sentimental guy. Maybe i'm too attached to the gear that keeps me happy, but you can bet when I unzip my sleeping bag next weekend and slide my feet in one at a time, a smile will appear. A smile, knowing I have a sleeping bag full of memories, and a restful night ahead of me.
Gear review of my favorite sleeping bag coming soonish. In the meantime, get outside with your friends this weekend and take a picture in your sleeping bag! Post it on social media with #chasinglayers Don't forget to subscribe!
Happy Trails
-POH