Ed Warden, the year-round campground host at Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal, is using the volunteer position to fulfill his lifelong desire to live a pared-down life in nature.

Ed Warden adds a log to the fire in the wood stove in his tent at Bradbury Mountain State Park. The stove keeps his tent at 70 degrees even during severe storms.

Ed Warden watches TV in his tent at Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal on Thursday. He has a coffee maker, a propane-powered oven, a rice cooker and an electric dryer, in which he makes hamburger jerky.

Ed Warden opens his cabinets, made of vertically stacked coolers, in his tent at Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal on Thursday. Once or twice a week, he gets a ride into town to buy food and supplies.

In his tent at Bradbury Mountain State Park, Ed Warden's meals are one-pot affairs, relying heavily on canned and dried foods.

Ed Warden, the year-round campground host at Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal, says he’s come to realize that he just wasn't meant to live like everyone else.