scatalogical bivouac (or, nature is poopy)

[mellowtigger]

I left work on Friday and then drove out to Fort Ridgely.  The Memorial Day Weekend camping was so nice that I packed up a day early and hightailed it out of there as soon as I woke up on Sunday.

Here's a view from the observation point near our campsite.


I joined 17 other people from Outwoods at the primitive camping site.  The people were pleasant throughout the event, the weather was sunny with some mild wind, the state park was nice, and the historical center had a good educational video. 

The problem, however, is that the whole place was in the midst of a tent caterpillar bloom.  There were caterpillars everywhere, on everything, over everything, constantly eating tree leaves day or night.  Which is fine.  Except for the rule: garbage in, garbage out.  Here's what the concrete looked like in front of the outhouse.  Notice the, um, "fertilizer" everywhere?



For the two days that I could stomach it, I listened to the "rain".  (mental monologue: It's rain, I tell you!  Don't think about it!  It's rain!)  Every hour, day and night without respite, was filled with the soft gentle sound of rainfall.  Except that there was no rain.  There were no clouds.  It was the sound of caterpillar poop falling from the trees.  Constantly.

Here's what my truck looked like after just one day.  There was a mixture of dry dots and wet spots.  I kept my food and drink covered at all times, even while eating it.


The worms were everywhere.  Here's the view above my face when I woke up Sunday morning inside my small 1-person tent.  That crowd was small.  It was a lot worse on Saturday morning.


Tearing down camp was a messy business.  I brought out the toilet paper to scoop off the living caterpillars as safely as I could.  I soaked up the squished caterpillars too.  (They're green inside, for the curious.)  I wiped off squishy stains all over.  I tried (and mostly failed) to tear off the silk that they had woven in various spots all over the see-through mesh of my tent.  I'm hoping the silk will age and then drop off more easily later.  My 2-days-old camping gear is now soiled by caterpiller piss, shit, silk, and guts.  At least it was cheap equipment.  I'll evaluate the actual damage some other day, although I'm pretty sure a caterpillar ate a hole in one point of my rain cover.

Hrmm, do caterpillar digestive systems have urinary tracts?  Anyway...

I got home and gave my truck the first automatic car wash that it's had while I've owned it.  The chemicals got most (not all) of the biological spots off of the paint.  I threw all of my bedding and clothes into the washer.  I took a shower to get all the caterpillar waste off of me.

I'm no longer a walking biological hazard.  Today, I'm a big fan of civilization.  It's rare, but I think I have a reasonable excuse for the temporary enthusiasm.

Comments

:o)

[otterlover01.livejournal.com]

I´d have mixed feeling for a while too after such an experience...! Hugs, L. :o)

Re: :o)

[mellowtigger]

I'm very glad to be clean again. I can still feel "something" in my left ear, but there's been no pain there for 2 days. Tomorrow is the big holiday here in the USA, so I have another day to rest before going to work.

:o)

[otterlover01.livejournal.com]

Good! How nice your ear is not bothering you that much, a signal that is is in recovery and that rest will truly help for sure. It will be a fairly normal day here whith the only difference that it is the end of semester so it is my student´s turn to deliver their final speeches and show how much they have learned on thematics and terminology and my turn to be the critical expectator. ;o)

[bbearseviltwin.livejournal.com]

if it is any consolation tent catapillers go thru cycles just like those giant fly looking things that are so noisy whose name I can't remember for the life of me, all though not as ridgedly, next year there will be far fewer of them, but lots more birds.

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

Where did you camp? Many years ago I went on a campout along the St. Croix (sp?) with a bunch of people from Outwoods.

[randomcub.livejournal.com]

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

That is all.

[mellowtigger]

Cicadas? (We called them "locust" in west texas, for unknown historical reasons.) Those are a lot more fun that these green caterpillars. The locust crawl out of the ground after dark, then they air out their wings overnight until they are brittle enough to fly. I think most locust live on a 17-year cycle?

[mellowtigger]

We were at Fort Ridgely in the group primitive camping area. There's even a large stream that runs through the park. Minus the caterpillars, I think it'd be a nice place. Their shower facility is lacking, though. Only one showerhead for that whole stretch of the park.

[mellowtigger]

Think of caterpillars in the sky, the next time you hear the first gentle sounds of sprinkling rain. :)

[bbearseviltwin.livejournal.com]

depends on the variety, most of them are on a 7 year cycle, but about every 17 years or so several batches coincied. They are so noisy that many people conplain of not being able to sleep when they are around.

[randomcub.livejournal.com]

*shudder*