Lake Como

August 6th, 2024

I camped at Lake Como USFS Campground near Darby, Montana to start the month of August. This is a small 10 site campground by the Lake Como Dam and appears to be newly improved.

I needed to attend to some maintenance during this stay. I placed an order with Amazon, which delivers to the UPS Store in nearby Hamilton. I bent one of my trailer’s rear stabilizers when backing into a campground in Colorado. A wooden post was in the back corner of the site, but hidden by tall grass, so I hit it. The stabilizer still seems to work, but it makes a lot of noise when extending it. Many times I leave a site early in the morning and don’t want to disturb other campers. I believe the stock stabilizers are rated at 2,500 pounds. I ordered a pair of new ones rated for 9,000 pounds. This should be better when camped in the desert where high winds can make the trailer feel a little wobbly. The trailer may blow away, but the stabilizers will still be sitting there. 😉

I also ordered some replacement filtering mineral beads for my shower head. These are great because they really work. They either filter the water, or make you think they filter the water. Either way, they seem well worth the money. Haha!

One of my solar battery chargers quit working back in Wyoming. I had the spare that came with the trailer, but it is not as efficient as the one I was using. However, that one turned out to be a brand that I have found to be unreliable soon after the warranty period runs out. A charger that fails has no efficiency at all, so I purchased a brand with a better reputation, though also more expensive.

Lastly, I ordered items to replace what is apparently designed to be disposable. I got a pack of 3 cords for my iPhone. If you own an iPhone, then you know how the cord’s insulation cracks where it bends and enters the charging receptacle.

I also needed maintenance. I went into town for a haircut. When you are a nomad, you do not get to have a favorite barber. You take your chances. Fortunately, hair grows back. This time, my barber was a young lady snowboarder. So we at least had snow and ski areas about which we could converse.

If my Amazon order makes it on time, I can pack up and head south back into Idaho. If not, then no big deal, as I don’t really have a schedule, just a direction. I will have made a complete loop around 3.5 million acres of wilderness and 2 states to arrive back just a few miles downstream of where I started at the beginning of June on the Salmon River.