Backpacking

I talked my husband into backpacking with me this weekend. I've been wanting to go for over a year (Our last backpacking trip was April, 2017)! However, with our jam packed schedules it's been hard to find a weekend to get away. We settled on this weekend over 2 months ago. Last week, it looked bleak as the weather was cold and rainy. However, rain cleared out Thursday and so we decided to make it a go.

It was a most amazing weekend away in nature. Here are a few brief highlights I don't want to forget:

• Eric is pulled over on the way to our trail head. The police heard me laughing at Eric and felt sorry for him. So, Eric was given a warning not a ticket much to my chagrin. Our friend, Jeremy,  (about 20 minutes behind us) got pulled over by same policeman. He had no wife to laugh at him...poor guy. He got a ticket despite the fact he was driving slower than Eric.
• We got to our camp sight at dusk after a quick 1.5 mile hike in. Everything was so wet, we weren't able to get a fire going despite our most valiant attempts. So, we shivered through supper (thankfully we did have a working stove) and went to bed very early. I slept very well and very warmly despite temperatures dropping below freezing.
• I did have to answer nature's call at least twice during the night. I'm surprised my pee didn't freeze...
• Amy woke up at 5:30 (which, when you go to bed at 7:30 pm, is not too early). I managed to keep her in the tent by letting her crawl into my sleeping bag. She sang happily while I tried to snooze a bit more.
• Amy and I got a warm breakfast for Eric and Michael while they continued to sleep until well past 7 am. Jeremy had to fend for himself. We put on three layers so stayed fairly warm despite the predictable valley post-dawn plunge in temperature that always happens when the sun starts warming the mountain tops. My feet and hands, however, were very cold. 
• We hiked up to to a fire tower (3.75 miles up the trail). The first half mile was very deceitfully easy. The last 2.25 miles were steep switch backs. Half-way up, my stomach started gnawing on the body of my thoracic spine. My last meal seemed very long ago. In fact, I began to wonder if breakfast was actually a hypothermically induced illusion. The guys seemed not the least bit deterred by potential hunger pangs and tried to convince me that the nicest place to eat lunch was the fire tower. I kept trudging ever upward. The kids were also fading fast. I finally prevailed on our sherpa leaders to stop for lunch. I don't think crackers, nuts, and dried fruit have ever tasted so good. 
• Near the end of our lunch, two hikers passed us and told us where to find a bear sleeping in a tree (so if we'd not stopped to eat, we would have missed hearing about the bear because it was just a few yards ahead of where we ate).
• We quietly walked ahead and saw said bear sleeping at least 100 yards across the valley opposite our trail. It's the black blob on the picture.
• We made it to the fire tower without difficulty. It was really tall and I had a panic attack when I got to the top. Jeremy only made it have way up and then he had to stop. I waited until my heart stopped beating at 120 bpm and then, slowly, I willed myself down. The kids clambered up with Eric and he made sure they made it down safely, but only after he and Michael paused half-way down to pee off the side. Seriously.
• We stopped and watched the bear again on our way down. Discovered it was a momma bear with a baby bear. Cute but dangerous. We beat a quick retreat.
• Got back to camp, air was much warmer (probably in 50s) and I took a bath with wet wipes while guys gathered sticks for a fire. It took a while because wood was so wet but eventually we got a wonderful fire going. Ahhh. It was amazing.
• Crawled into bed again around 7:30 pm and slept until 7:30 am with only one 2am foray out to pee.
• Amy and I were up first, again. We had our tent down and out back-packs packed well before guys emerged. Then we got breakfast for the crew again before helping Eric and Michael finish packing up. We headed out by 9:30 am. 
• We had a completely uneventful hike back to the car. Sad. I already miss the woods.

Black blob just above the center of the photo are the sleeping bears.