Bear Belly Adventures

The most asked question I get is what are you going to do first?  Everyone wants to hear about the first great adventure but the reality is there is so much to do before embarking on any adventures.  Maybe the most important being downsizing to fit my life into a Jeep Wrangler and 5 X 9 camper trailer.

I’ve learned that a rig that possesses a lot of room for the weekend or even a two-week-long trip seems much smaller when the realization sets in that there is no home to return to; this is it, what I have with me is all there is going to be. There is no going home to clean up, restock, rinse or repeat. I have decades of stuff to go through and decide what I need, what I want, and finding that happy medium for those things that make the cut. I can honestly say the eight mini USB charging cords I have been saving for 15 years did not make the cut; however, some items are a little more challenging to part with. Gifts, childhood keepsakes, and even keepsakes acquired as an adult are difficult to part with because of the emotional hold they have. I make stacks of things to keep, donate, and trash. The first round was the most difficult because it wasn’t easy to separate my emotional attachment from the items. After several attempts, I have been able to move much of my stuff from the keep pile by giving it to family and friends, selling, or donating.

Organizing everything that made it to the final round to fit into the space I have was challenging in and of itself.  When living in a tiny space I feel keeping things organized  is a must.  Everything should be put together in a fashion that requires little to no digging or rearranging to reach the most used items.  It’s one thing to be able to “Tetris” everything into a space but once you have to  move things out of your way to get to what is needed the organization falls apart and things just end up cluttered.  I organized and labeled similar things into bags and totes. With the help of my Anam Cara, Mary, repair kits, bags for my hobbies, coffee and drink box, tools, laundry and cleaning supplies all found a place with the most used items in front or on top of less frequently used items.  The true test of whether we did a great job will be the test of time but for now, color me impressed!

My Extreme Off Road Trailer by Hiker Trailer is small.  The interior cabin living space is 6’8” long, 4’11” wide and a whopping 44” tall.  Another goal when getting ready to live in this cozy space was for Nana and I to be able to go to bed without having to move anything out of the way.  On my shorter trips I often had to stay someplace for one night, getting in late and leaving early.  I don’t want to unpack things just for us to get a night’s rest but the reality is I have more stuff than storage. I had a 6 inch tri-fold twin XL mattress on the floor that took up a good majority of the space.  Although it was nice and comfy with plenty of room to stretch out I missed having floor space.  When hanging out in the trailer while raining I felt like I was always still in bed (I guess technically I was).  I missed the floor space.  A place to put my shoes, or for the dog to jump up too, that wasn’t where I also slept.  I took the tri fold mattress out and separated the three sections.  After turning the two sections 90* and discarding the third I found that my twin XL is now a cot XL size.  The amount of floor space recovered was remarkable, however, I still have a storage issue. Mary recommended a lifted bed platform with storage underneath, so that’s what I built.  Using mostly scrap lumber I already had laying around the garage and about $18 of additional wood for the slats I built the platform with 8” of storage underneath it.  I am able to fit a camp chair, tote of exercise bands, vacuum compressed bag of blankets, 65 liter backpacking pack, two duffle bags and there is still some room to stuff items in!  The best part is I can sit on the bed like a bench which makes getting dressed and putting on shoes so much easier.  If I am sitting with exceptional posture I will hit my head but a relaxed laid back position is perfect.  Putting the platform in there changed the look and feel of the trailer.  It makes it feel more like a home and not like I’m sleeping on someone’s floor for the night.  It has a resonance of permanence and I love it!

I know none of this must come off as exciting but like most things in life it’s the necessary work required to meet goals. If the going gets tough enlist the help and perspective of a friend, family or even a neighbor.  Sometimes a second set of eyes or just some good company is all that is needed to organize our life or trailer from a makeshift mattress on the floor to a tiny home on wheels.  As for the most asked question I get, at the end of June I’ll be headed to Olmstedville in up-state New York to repair my canoe from Hornbeck Boats that was crushed when a tree fell on it from a storm last fall.  More details on this to come!

Best Fucking Day Ever!