

When I got mine in they gave me local anesthesia, and it was still the most painful experience of my life. Turns out rummaging around in your innards produces a type of pain unlike anything I’ve ever felt. I truly can’t imagine how awful it must be without any anesthesia.
I’d amend this to say ‘know what the seasonal conditions are for your area and plan accordingly.’ In Washington for example Spring is generally too cold for comfortable camping (the temperature typically drops to ~30-45 during at night). While August/September is peak wildfire season nowadays. So June, July, early August are your best bets unless you’re happy toughing out the cold or the smoke.