Notes on The Abode

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Hi folks-

As some of you know, I help with SpiritFire, which is held at the Abode every summer. I went up to the Abode last month to do some SpiritFire prep. We took GPS readings and made a scale map, which I've posted in my Flickr account here.

Here are some suggestions to help you have a more comfortable weekend and get settled when you arrive. I can only speak to how we've done things at SpiritFire. I'm not involved with Baitcon planning and don't know how they'll organize things. This is only a preview.


You'll notice the map is a copy of the SpiritFire map, labeled with how we use the space.

ROADS


The Abode is on top of a mountain. There's a narrow, first-gear dirt road leading up the mountain with some sharp turns. There are a couple places an oncoming car could pull over, but not many. Uphill traffic traditionally has the right of way. We'll need to stay aware of each other to make it work.

As you can see on the map, there's a horseshoe for parking. When parking got tight at SpiritFire, we alternated parking nose-in and nose-out. There's some overflow parking at the foot of the mountain.

There's a turn-around loop at the top of the road. SpiritFire has folks pull up, unload their stuff, move their car, and then move gear to their tenting site. With so many people coming in, this can be a bottleneck, and the drop-and-park keeps things flowing. I know ConCom has given logistics a lot of thought, and will have more specific suggestions there.

There are two roads on the site: one that runs from Ops Parking past the cabins to the Sanctuary, and one from the turnaround loop to the pavillion. Both are narrow, and both dead-end. ( There are other paths drawn in a big loop on the map, but they're foot paths.) This is another spot where we'll have to cooperate to make it work.


TENTING
The Abode is blessed with a lot of flat ground, some on grass and some in the woods. Grassy areas are between the Ops Parking and Kitchen, and around the main area.

To get to the wooded area, walk between the toilets and showers. The path splits into a Y; you can tent in the middle or to the sides of the paths.


The Abode uses orange plastic surveyor ribbon to mark trees that are unsafe. Look up before you pitch your tent to double-check for falling branches.


HUTS
There are several huts scattered around the site. If you want to stay in a hut, it would be well to scout it out on foot. In June some huts had broken windows and screens, thanks to pileated woodpeckers with bad aim. They were most likely repaired, but the woodpeckers are still around.

Most of the huts are quite a hike. Scouting will help you decide whether you want to schlepp your stuff that far or walk it in the dark.

CRITTERS
No bears! Yay!

There are plenty mice and chipmunks. They are all fearless in the pursuit of snacks. Last year, when I stayed in a cabin, I thought I could outsmart the mice by hanging my snack bag on a peg on the wall. At 2AM I was woken up by a steady *CRINKLE* *CRINKLE* *CRINKLE* from the snack bag. I turned on the flashlight. One mouse popped its head out of the bag, and its buddy on the ledge looked at me inquisitively. "GRRR! GRRRRRRRR! BIG MONKEY HERE! OUTTA MY FOOD!" I said. They played along and pretended to hide. I turned out the light and the crinkling resumed. Did I mention the ledge was level with the top bunk, and I could hear them scampering back and forth near my head?

Some folks would enjoy this wonderful chance to bond with our little woodland brethren. Me, I'm freaked out by mice running around my head and licking all my snacks before I even get to open them. Them's MY cheese curls! I walked all my food down to the car in the middle of the night. As I walked back, I noticed the ground was all a-rustle with other critters.

If you're going to bring food, leave it in the car or put it in a sealable container or cooler. The locals aren't impressed by big monkeys.

SUFIS
The other locals are from the Sufi community that runs The Abode. They're very friendly. There is none of that mean landlord relationship that went on at other BaitCon sites. They had no complaints when SpiritFire stacked rocks. :) Talk with them if you get a chance, they're interesting folks.


That's all I can think of. This is going to be fun!

See you in a week.