I awoke to the sound of something being dragged across the wood deck on which we were sleeping, a repetitive banging as it was pulled back and forth. As I approached consciousness, I began to hear something building in the distance, like a large highway Semi barreling down the road as the engines wine and the wind pulls at its trailer. It grew louder and before it struck, sleep was but a distant memory. The sound materialized, pulling the corners of my tent, lifting what was not held down by the weight of my body and dragging the 2 liter bottles of water that were attached to the guy lines of my tent.

Experiencing the full force of weather without the comfort of the four walls we call home is something few get to experience. Sitting in this small fabric shelter as the wind drags my gear across the wooden deck, I think of the possibility of getting caught in a storm like this while on the ocean and how hopeless we would actually be.