Got an early start today — left my niece and nephew’s place in New Market, New Hampshire around 5:30 a.m. under beautiful sunny skies. It was about a four-and-a-half-hour drive to camp. As I made my way north, clouds started to build, and about an hour and a half out, the rain started. By the time I reached the general store where I planned to park the U-Haul trailer, it was absolutely pouring. No end in sight.
When the rain let up slightly, I jumped out and got to work unhooking the trailer — not an easy task. I had to pull out the truck jack to lift the tongue, since the trailer was still fully loaded and far too heavy to lift manually. I’d already moved it once after realizing the first spot I parked had a slight incline, so I picked what looked like a more level space.
But the trailer had other ideas.
As soon as the tongue came off the hitch ball, the whole thing started to roll. Fortunately, it rolled away from the truck, not toward it. And even more fortunately, I hadn’t yet disconnected the emergency safety chains, so it only rolled about six inches or a foot before stopping. That was a heart-stopper. Lesson learned: always chock the wheels.
Eventually, I got it unhooked and stable. After about an hour, the rain stopped, and I hustled to move as many supplies as I could from the trailer to my property, where I had tarps ready to cover them. I managed three trips before the skies opened up again. Not ideal, but I got most of the gear covered and kept dry.
Later, I made it out to the camp itself. The good news? It looked just like I left it last year. The bad news? It looked just like I left it last year.
The place is still in rough shape, but I was encouraged to see that the tarp I put on the roof held up beautifully through the winter. Everything inside was secure, dry, and intact — a huge relief.
Tomorrow I’ll finish moving the rest of the gear and start making the place feel like home again.
Talk to you tomorrow.