We had just packed in 8 miles up the Little Burns Creek Valley, 2 people, 4 horses and five round trips later, we were here. We began to set up our camp for the opening of the bull Elk season, three days away. This was our vacation, 2 weeks, packed into the most wildly beautiful country a person could wish to lay eyes on.
I'm here to tell you folks, we packed in every thing including the kitchen stove. This was our maiden outing with our brand new 12'x14' wall tent. We had tables, chairs, cots, rugs, chain saw, electric fence and 10 bales of certified hay for the horses. We had three coolers, two of which were frozen and had dry ice in them. We dug out two holes in the ground and placed the two frozen coolers in the holes, then carefully covered up each one to make them last for two weeks.
Yes siree, we were ready for anything. As we set about getting our camp ready, one must remember the old realtors saying "location, location, location". We were on the far side of the creek away from the main trail, up against a very steep mountain. We figured that by locating our camp about 50 yards from the creek, we had a better chance of hearing the bull elk bugle. This location made for a little longer trip to get water, but we felt it was worth the quiet camp atmosphere.
Now with all the plunder that we had packed in, it took us two days to get ourselves, the dog and horses all situated and comfortable in our new vacation home. This was September in Idaho so the temperatures during the days were in the 70's, then it got down to freezing at night, folks that was all good and well with us.
Setting up a camp of that size, pitching the tent, cutting wood, digging holes and putting up fences in that warm weather tends to make a person perspire just a bit, we were both beginning to stand upwind from each other.
Well now, I had bought this handy item before we left on this hunt called a "Solar Shower". Hey it sounded great to me, just fill it water, hang it up in the sunshine, and whaa laa Hot Water. Sounded pretty dog gone simple to me. So I fills it up with pure Rocky Mountain creek water, hangs it up on the pole we had tied between two trees, right out the back door of our new wall tent.
The "Solar Shower" spent it's first day hanging out in the sunshine, when I checked it I could almost tell the difference in the water temperature, not quite, but almost. I was thinking at this rate of heating, our shower was going to be a long ways off, and we weren't smelling any better.
In the middle of the third day our camp was totally put together. Firewood was cut and stacked, wild flowers on the table, horses out munching bunch grass in the finest pasture they had ever seen. Beautiful mountain, cliffs and a gurgling creek running near by. The quaking aspen were changing colors and there was the sweet fragrance of pine gently wafting up and down the valley in a cooling breeze. Oh, did I mention the two stinking people that had work their donkeys off to make this, the camp of their lives.
One can only stand upwind from the other one so much, cuz that other person some how works their way around you, then they are upwind. Well after you do this "get upwind maneuver" several times, you find yourselves 2 miles from camp, still trying to get upwind from the other person.
OK, that's it, I don't know what part of solar heating that my solar shower didn't understand, but it sure in the hell wasn't getting one lick warmer. Time for desperate measures.
Well now when we bought our new wall tent, we had also purchased a wood burning cook stove to go with it. Now I'll tell ya this was a high tech stove, cuz it had a 5 gallon hot water tank attached to it. Did I mention that my highly praised solar shower also holds 5 gallons of water.
Aaah Haaa, the light came on, heat some water and pour it into the solar shower. Good idea, no problem, we had fire, we had wood, we had water and we sure did stink.
How about we pour out half of the cold water in the solar shower and add real hot water to the remaining cold water to make a comfortable warm shower.
No problem, while we are using the first 5 gallons of water we can be heating up more water for the second 5 gallons of comfortable water. This is gona' be nice, cuz now we can enjoy two long warm showers verses one short warm shower.
As we readied our shower area, plastic mat to stand on, towels hanging on a branch, soap and shampoo ready to use, I filled the fire box on the camp stove with small very dry wood. This kind of wood will heat the water up in no time at all I thought. With a fire like this, our second 5 gallons of hot water will be ready by the time the first 5 gallons of hot water is used up during our shower.
Just as we completed undressing and was stepping into our long awaited warm soothing shower, I glanced over at the tent and came close to having a heart attack, "THE TENTS ON FIRE".
The top of the tent, around the smoke stack was burning like there was no tomorrow. Both of us rushed to the tent grabbing our two collapsible 2 gallon buckets of water. I threw my 2 gallons of water above the smoke stack to stop the fire from going over the top of tent. My lady friend grabbed the empty bucket and started for the creek to get more water, stopped came back, and began to frantically grab sleeping bags, food, cameras and whatever else she could throw out of the tent in her heroic effort to save our gear. I then threw the second bucket of water on top of the tent. Through the smoke, steam and my watery eyes I could see that the flame were still headed up and over the top of the tent, just then a thought flashed through my head as I watched the flames grow bigger and bigger, the creek, location, location, location.
My brand new tent was well on its way to burning up. Water, I needed more water and I needed it right now. The shower, yes the shower, the "Solar Shower" that I had cussed and ranted on about being a total waste of money, had 5 gallons of water.
I ran over to the shower area, grabbed our most wonderful "Solar Shower", filled with warm soothing water and rushed back to the burning tent. I pulled the spray nozzle off of the end of the shower hose, then squeezing the "Solar Shower" like a bag pipe, a stream of water shot out reaching the top of our brand new burning wall tent, saving our precious wall tent from total destruction.
Finally, as smoke and steam cleared, we both just stood there, with sweat and black soot all over us, looking at our poor, poor wall tent with the big burn hole in it. The burn hole went from the stove pipe all the way to the top of the ridge pole. All I could do was cuss at my stupidity and all she said was "Are you all right"?
I don't know if you all remember, but we were just about to step into our long awaited warm, soothing shower when all hell broke loose and we went right to fighting fire. So as we stood there looking at the poor tent I turned to her and noticed something that was completely lost upon me during all the excitement of saving our tent from the fire, but I couldn't help but to ask her, "Do you always fight fires naked?".
Well now she wasn't the only naked fire fighter that day, I was also, and that is how the legend of the "Burns Creek Naked Fire Brigade" began.
We saved our tent and using a couple of the canvas pack mantees, some more poles for extra support and a plastic tarp, our tent was weather proof and ready to live in again. We stayed our two weeks and enjoyed every minute of it. Oh, and by the way, we didn't get an elk that trip, but it's like a I say folks, it is the memories of being outdoors and enjoying life that counts the most.
Thanks for your time and folks, remember what Smokey the Bear says
