My first solo trip & daypack trip - Backbone State Park, IA
panoramic I took from the backbone trail. Here's a map of this state park! As much as I love traveling and being outside, I've never gone camping alone, or even stayed out of town overnight by myself before. This was something I had always wanted to try. It's not always possible to find someone to come with when I get the itch to go on an adventure - I would be out every other weekend or more, if I could. I decided to go to Backbone State Park in Dundee, Iowa over Friday night and hike all day on Saturday on Memorial Day weekend. Let me tell you, I learned a lot. Not everything went as planned, but I will still be doing solo camping again. Arrival I made great time getting to the park after clocking out. I had packed my car the night before, including shelf stable, hiking friendly food; the weather and traffic were perfect. When I first pulled into the park, I came through the lakeside entrance, and I knew it would be a good trip. The lake, the trees, the sandstone crags -