Congdon Shelter, VT to Mark Noepel Shelter, MA – 24 miles

My tent is my own portable studio apartment. At 28 square feet, it’s cozy but it has a huge backyard.

It comes with a kitchen out one vestibule, mud room and bad-weather bathroom out the other vestibule, a clothesline strung between the two peaks for laundry, and overhead lighting if I girth hitch my headlamp to the clothesline.

My trekking poles double as the tent poles, so I’m not carrying duplicate equipment. There is space for two, or plenty of room for one person to stretch out without worrying about touching the condensation on the walls.

I usually have dinner and breakfast in bed, which feels very civilized. It’s also very convenient. I can do almost all my household chores without leaving my sleeping bag, which will become much handier as the weather gets cooler this fall. I wish I could do the same in town.

With homeownership so out of reach on a single income in Seattle, it feels nice to own this place outright. Since I don’t really live anywhere else, my tent truly is my home for the time being. It’s nice to have my very own space.