Hiker Chicks: Adventure One, Part One

If you know me very well, you know I’d much rather be doing something out of doors than inside. Especially if that includes water, the scent of pine needles and good company. And I don’t mind roughing it. I mean, I like to look pretty and do my nails and stuff. And I prefer to be clean. But I can handle the rough stuff too. In fact, I really do enjoy it.

I live in a state that is known for it’s diverse and beautiful surroundings. Within a couple hours, I have desert or beach or mountains. I love them all, but especially the mountains with the forest scents and wildlife -- and lots of natural bodies of water.

I had been discussing this interest with a couple friends all year. We had been discussing organizing some kind of an active activity for awhile. We discussed camping and white water rafting, but, with busy mom schedules, neither one seemed to work out this year. But, thanks to my two gal pals, it finally worked out, and they organized a backpacking trip for us.

Ohhh, the anticipation!

A 3 day, 2 night adventure taking us up a trail that was somewhere between 6.5 and 8 miles long (depending on which routes we took), each way, up into the mountains.

I mean backpacking. Trekking. Hiking with a pack that weighs more than it should, out into the wilderness. Pitching tents, sleeping in the woods. There are no sinks, no toilets, no hair dryers. Just lakes and trees and bears and stuff. And us. Girls.

Here we are at the trailhead

Now, I have hiked before. And I have camped aplenty. But I have never hiked with a pack carrying all of my camping gear, into the middle of, well, nowhere. I did not have a pack.

Nor a backpacking kind of sleeping bag, cuz it all has to be light and compact.

Nor a sleeping mat. Not an air mattress, but a light mat rolled tightly.

Nor a tent.

Thank Heaven REI has a rental program! And I guess that’s another nice thing about friends. You are all different, with different experiences. And those other two ladies have had this experience and had equipment for me to borrow. And we each had another friend or two. So there were eight ladies planning to go, and equipment to borrow or rent or buy.

We had to each figure out what we were going to eat – and pack it in our packs.

And what we were going to wear (do I want to make sure I am warm? But if I bring warm clothes my pack will be heavier)…

and sleep on…

and wash with…

and I wanted to fish…

and our Bibles and journals…

and cameras of course…

and, and, AND….MY PACK IS TOO HEAVY!

The night before we left I kept packing and repacking my backpack. I was trying to find more stuff to take out. Cuz it sure seemed heavy. I really did try to get it down to the bare necessities. Which ended up weighing somewhere between 30-35 pounds when all was said and done. Which I was going to wear on my back. All the way. Up, Up, UpthEmoUntAinTrail. On my back, connected to my hips and my shoulders. Which are still all wiggly and loose from childbirth, even now almost three years later (that’s another post for another day!).

Oops, just ran out of time for this post. Duty calls (and I don’t mean I have to go to the bathroom!). I will have to tell you more in my next post! I will have to scroll up and add “Part One” to my title. Good night…