I had certain reservations about this trip. These reservations had absolutely nothing to do with the location, the logistics of my arrival and departure, nor the company I would be keeping over the Canada Day long weekend. My reservations stemmed from my not having gone camping... anywhere, ever. I am talking the whole tent-life, hygiene-maintenance-in-the-bush, bug-spray, outhouse-if-you-are-lucky, no-shower, carting-around-lake-water-to-wash-your-dishes type of camping.
I am a bonafide city dweller. I was born in a big city, I was raised in a big city, I've immigrated from one big city [from Asia: Manila, Philippines] to permanently reside in another big [Canada: Toronto, Ontario] city, and my only concept of any small town, suburban-type, or country living has been sorely influenced by the handful of day trips out to farms and adorable countryside villas where I would don my typical city wear [sans leather oxfords or heels, opting for gumboots or sneakers instead], and prance around happily amongst the wildflowers and the orchard trees. The wilderness in those situations, given my personal experiences in my first ever Oroville away-trip, seemed very much easy to control and predict, and I would still ultimately end those days in my own bed or within comfortable lodgings furnished with a bed, a shower, a toilet, and a sink.
So, yes, I would hail Oroville as my first real experience in the wild. Seasoned wilderness junkies would scoff and laugh at this, yes, but I went into this trip knowing I would be pushing the boundaries of my personal comfort zone, "digitally-out-of-reach", I noted, save for perhaps "through a trained carrier pigeon". I looked at Oroville as my personal Everest of sorts (one of many, at the very least) - a place where I would purposely let go of my obsessive-compulsive need to shower, have smooth legs, tidy hair, and clean clothes.
I jumped into this armed with having only seen instagrams of the place and the joking remarks of Pascal, who told me they would have to arm me with bear spray, mace, and guns in order to be able to "do my business" out in the wild safely and effectively. I laughed these jokes off, though admittedly I was mentally panic-stricken at first, going through the myriad of stored excuses in my head to be able to explain why I will have to pass on this Oroville experience this time.
