This weekend I made my first backcountry camping trip and the most scary thing wasn't the fact that we were going deep into bear country, or had to drink giardia water from the creek, but just the weight of those friggin backpacks!
Hiking 9.0 miles with a pack filled with a tent, sleeping bag, food and clothes on your back is a whole lot different than just hiking. Ugh. But with The Backpack From Hell it's even worse. This big blue one I borrowed from John was made of lead or something because carrying that thing just sucked. And that was even after I learned how to pack light from my roommate Mike the camping expert. ("What's this?" "A shirt for tomorrow." "You're just going one night, you can wear the same shirt. What's this?" "Swim trunks." "Just go in your shorts. What's this?" "Um, ...pajamas." "Pajamas!!")
Thankfully my friends all agreed this pack came from hell so everyone shared the burden and we traded off carrying the beast for a while. Just so you know, it wasn't all my stuff, it had our hot dogs, cookies, pb&j, bread, and Lipton instant "chicken-flavored fettucine." Damn our gourmet needs! It seriously felt like having a dead body on your shoulders. Anyways, we had a great time nonetheless. We hiked in 9.0 miles to our campsite on Saturday, and returned the same way on Sunday. It was a nice hike; there were nice grassy meadows and woodsy parts with lodgepole pines and aspen trees mixed in, with the beautiful creek meandering by. Ryan was fly fishing and caught a ton. He also saw a grizz.
I definitely want to do more backcountry camping, but I think 5 miles distances would be more enjoyable wearing a pack, and I'd want to stay out for more days to make it worth it.
Oh yeah, I also had my first outdoor poo. That was exciting.
Destination: Slough Creek
Who: Me, Albert, my roommate Ryan and our ranger friend John.
Distance hiked: 19.0 miles roundtrip
Sunday, August 3, 2008
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