This weekend’s post is on the “inspiration” end rather than the “creativity” end, though there was some of that too (packing all of your gear on your back definitely requires some creativity)! James is hoping to do Summit to Sea down the road, which is a 30 mile backpacking trip from (as the name suggests) the summit to the sea. I’ve never done backpacking though, so he convinced me to do a test run this weekend: 7 miles total, 30 lbs on my back. I was nervous to be sure. How could I ever carry 30 pounds and hike at the same time? Well, I’m happy to report (as if it wasn’t obvious considering I’m typing this up after the trip) that I made it! Carrying the backpack wasn’t as hard as I anticipated, but it did become problematic when we got to some treacherous sections of the trail that were more like rock climbing than hiking. Still, we’re in one piece!
Greetings from the trail head. Does someone look a little nervous? I’m terrified of the possibility of running into a cougar.
We’ve made it past the scary rock climbs. I’m impressed I did that on my first trip with that huge bag on my back (complete with a flowery neck pillow). Look at that view! Crazy to think we could be crossing that on foot for Summit to Sea down the road. Still, it reminds me of an adventure across Middle Earth to throw a ring in Mount Doom, and that is kinda appealing to me. If we do that trip, I may have to wear the one ring around my neck. 🙂 Onward to camp!
The morning. Our night wasn’t so restful. If we weren’t awake, we were dreaming of being awake. I had a dream that I got up out of the tent to go to the bathroom (which looked like the house – should have been a tip-off to me that I was dreaming), and I saw a cougar stalking me, so I started shouting and growling to scare it off. Apparently, that sound came out very loudly in my sleep around 2am. James says the sound I made was very demonic sounding and freaked him out – similar to those horror movies where the parties get possessed to take out their companions one-by-one. Whoops! Sorry, James. Sorry, fellow campers. At least we had a nice breakfast with our fancy water bottle cups.
On the trail again. Happy campers. At this point, we tried a different route back, which led to a foot-wide trail with a cliff on one side and a bolder and cables on the other. I’m not coordinated, so we turned back to find another route. It was at this moment that James’ uncle checked our location (we have GPS tracking). One moment, it showed us on the trail. Then, it showed us at the bottom of the valley!! He was panicked thinking we had fallen off. Luckily, the page refreshed and showed that we were indeed safely on the trail back to find another route.
This picture was taken approximately 24 hours into our trip. Why does his hair still look perfect? That is not normal or fair…
Me 24 hours in. Looking the way most backpackers look: red face, sweaty, crazy hair…
James scared of the way I look after 24 hours backpacking in the woods.
Lunch break. Enjoying cheese, summer sausage, and crackers on the side of the trail. Food never tastes as good as it does while hiking and backpacking! I always love books that describe food so well. I hope to one day capture in writing how good food tastes after hiking.
Finally! We’re back at the car headed home. Safe and sound.
Though not technically writing or crafting related, this trip gives me a glance into a world I had previously known very little about. It wasn’t the typical first trip. Most newbies don’t go on a 7 mile total trip or have any rock scrambling/climbing like I did. We actually were planning on taking a more treacherous route back (only a foot wide trail with a cable on one side and a cliff on the other), but when we saw it, we turned back to find a safer route. I’m not nearly coordinated enough for that!! Maybe this experience will inspire me for some sort of future project whether that be crafting-related or whether that means a scene in a future novel!
To see the whole trail, click here.
By Angela 