Camping Gear

I’ve spent more nights than I can count on the river with nothing but a tarp, a fire, and a couple of small solar lanterns. I’m also gifted at leaving my flashlight at home. Ask anyone who has camped with me.

The woods have a way of teaching you things the easy way or the hard way. This lesson hit me the hard way. Five miles from my truck, no cell service, no phone battery, thick Mississippi timber, and the one thing I was counting on slipped out of my pocket without a sound. My map was gone. One second it was tucked in my cargo pocket, laminated and ready to use, and the next time I reached for it I found nothing but empty fabric. Somewhere behind me, in five miles of woods, that

A forgotten flashlight in the Mississippi Delta turns a calm hunt into a lesson on fear, preparation, and the kind of light that never fails when darkness falls.