Since the first time I ever slept in a tent was this past August, I regard camping 13 out of the last 14 nights as a major achievement.

I finally feel I’ve been camping. I camped during cold clear nights, in the rain, and in the howling wind. I camped at 4 different altitudes up to 15,000 ft, and on the hot, dusty treeless plains at sea level. I’ve woken up to a Masai guard draped in a bright red robe holding a walking stick, greeting me with a precise “Good morning” in perfect English. I’ve been protected by a man in a trenchcoat who stood watch over the camp with a bow and arrow.

As an elephant casually sauntered through our campsite, I knew that I very, very, far from home.

On the mountain, I had a hard time staying warm at night. Even though my sleeping bag is rated for 10F, and most nights it probably was about 20-25F, I wore long underwear bottoms underneath Jonathan’s jogging pants, a thermal top plus a T-shirt, a wool sweater, a fleece and a hat. And I was still cold. After complaining at breakfast, someone suggested that I stuff all my extra clothes in the sleeping bag with me, and finally that night I was warm.

Of course, the next time I used my sleeping bag was on the hot, dry plains, and all my cold weather defenses were rendered immediately useless. I learned quickly to appreciate all the screens and the ways to vent a tent.

Although camping reminded me how little a person really needs for a place to sleep, I will say, that I am big fan of showering more frequently than once every 7 days. I have never had so much dirt underneath my fingernails for so long. It took me a full week to wash it all out. And, for the first time, I understood how hair can turn into dreadlocks – I couldn’t run my fingers, much less a comb, through it.

I enjoyed the whole experience, though by the end of 14 days, I was ecstatic to stay in hotel – and have a bathroom I could reach without putting on my headlamp, my sandals, and picking my way around the tent strings and rocks, all the while watching out for pairs of eyes in the night…