My First Backpacking Trip
So it would appear that despite many people’s effort to prevent me from backpacking with invites to “drinking”, I managed to avoid them all, drag my ass up at 6 on Saturday morning, pack my shit up and drive over to my buddy’s house. I arrived half an hour late because it turns out, packing for a backpacking trip takes a bit longer than packing for a standard vacation where you throw everything you’ve ever owned in two suitcases and call it done. I had to hem and haw over every article of extra clothing and necessary food supply.
When I got to Daniel’s house, he told me his buddy, Dave is coming with us. He warned me that Dave was an old party buddy of his that he hasn’t seen in years and never hiked with, so he’s not sure what to expect. We picked Dave up along the way and started on our 2.5 hours drive out to Leavenworth, which is where the trailhead is.
We stopped by Sultan Bakery for some breakfast, where Dave and I sized each other up with you-better-fucking-carry-your-own-weight-and-not-ruin-my-trip eyes. This backpacking trip is no joke, it’s a 7 miles hike with 4000 feet elevation gain, at the end of which you camp next to piles of snow. Campfire is strictly prohibited so if you get cold, you better have enough clothing and gear to keep warm. Turns out, Dave had been backpacking since he was 12, was in the Army for a few years and have done search and rescue training…so I stopped worrying about him. I think Dave was still a bit unsure about me, because he pointed out that my pants matched my purse and they’re shiny…hot damn, I didn’t even notice…but they’re black, of course they’re going to match. REI somehow caught on that girls like this “hiking” thing and made clothing that are pretty for girls. I simply wanted some clothing that had “moisture-wicking” ability…if it happened to look good all the better. I tend to sweat buckets on the trail and could really use all the help I can get on staying dry...those pants convert to shorts too.
When we got to the trailhead, I started getting nervous…suddenly the idea of hiking uphill for 7 miles with a quarter of my weight on my back seemed scary. Daniel was there the previous weekend with another buddy of his, and his buddy only made it about 4.5 miles in before he collapsed so Daniel had to carry both their packs and find a decent place to camp (you’re not supposed to camp just anywhere there, that could get you a big ticket). I told him to not tell girls stuff like that right before their first backpacking trip. He assured me that his buddy wasn’t in hiking shape, whereas, if I could hike Mailbox for the fun of it, I should be fine. I think he gives me a little too much credit for being tough, little does he know I’m constantly about two steps from snapping and bawling like a bitchy princess. So we put on our gaiters and off we went with me leading the party since I will be the slowest with my short legs.
The day ended up extremely beautiful and sunny instead of rainy so the guys changed to shorts and t-shirts, which I would have opted for until I heard the word “ticks”. Fuck that, I prefer more sweating over blood-losing by skin-burrowing bugs. The hike ended up being a lot easier than I thought it would be…the trail had a nice steady incline without being too steep on any parts of it, most of the trail was nicely shaded too, so being in black wasn’t too bad either. We did the entire hike with only a few short breaks. Overall, I thought the trail would be pretty easy without the extra weight and every section of the trail was just gorgeous, words and pictures do not do the place justice. The two bad things about the trails had to be the many fallen trees in the first section, and trying to cross a cement dam at Snow Lakes.
Fallen trees on the trails suck so hard. You have to try to somehow climb over or limbo under the giant logs…very difficult with giant pack on your back. The cement dam is scary because even though the water is only about 6 inches or so high, the water is fucking freezing, so you don’t want to get your feet wet (if you don’t have gaiters, you’re fucked). The water is moving very rapidly from Upper Snow Lake to Lower Snow Lake, so you could get pushed off the cement wall, which is only about 1.5 foot wide. Dave’s advice on crossing this is to make sure your backpack is NOT strapped in, so that if you get pushed over, you can ditch your pack. Oh…we also saw a sickly mountain goat on the trail, which other hikers warned us could be aggressive so we need to scare it away in case it tries to push us off the ledge.
We made it to camp and started setting up. Backpackers are a different breed of geeks, we all compared our gears (we had just about 3 of EVERTHING, a bit excessive, but we liked having our own stuff), and marveled in their weight and effectiveness…oh and they made fun of my fabulous pink Therm-a-Rest…those jealous bastards. We piled on layers of clothing to sit around and watch the stars. I’m so glad Daniel invited Dave. The guy is such a fucking riot; he’s the type of guy who would naturally own a party because everything he says is so damned outrageous and funny. He farted all the way in and out of the trail.
A few hours after we went to bed, the rain came pouring in. There’s nothing else quite like being all snuggly, warm and DRY in 30-something degrees weather while listening to the pitter-patter of rain on your tent.
Daniel had the bright idea to bring a tarp and set it up before we went to bed, so we had a nice shelter to sit under in the morning. While we sat around eating breakfast, I pointed out that there are fucking squirrels nearby…literally. Soon as I mentioned it, it became a squirrel orgy with squirrels crawling out of everywhere and nowhere. At least the squirrels settled a question I had for over a year…while I was working on the game for Narnia, we needed sound effects for squirrels, and the question was, “Do squirrels make noise?” I now know, they do…and they are damned loud…sounds a bit like birds.
We cleaned up and backpacked back out. My legs were bloody stumps by the end of it (carrying 30 extra lbs for 14 miles will do that to you)…but the trip was awesome. I can’t wait till the next. I would love to camp another night next time I come back just to have time to hike around to the other lakes. I've made a slide of a few pictures...really does not do the place justice (slide seems to work better in Explorer over Firefox). And a few more.
Home in Seattle, tonight. -->
My sister wanted to go out drinking, but sometimes...a walk alone is nicer.
When I got to Daniel’s house, he told me his buddy, Dave is coming with us. He warned me that Dave was an old party buddy of his that he hasn’t seen in years and never hiked with, so he’s not sure what to expect. We picked Dave up along the way and started on our 2.5 hours drive out to Leavenworth, which is where the trailhead is.
We stopped by Sultan Bakery for some breakfast, where Dave and I sized each other up with you-better-fucking-carry-your-own-weight-and-not-ruin-my-trip eyes. This backpacking trip is no joke, it’s a 7 miles hike with 4000 feet elevation gain, at the end of which you camp next to piles of snow. Campfire is strictly prohibited so if you get cold, you better have enough clothing and gear to keep warm. Turns out, Dave had been backpacking since he was 12, was in the Army for a few years and have done search and rescue training…so I stopped worrying about him. I think Dave was still a bit unsure about me, because he pointed out that my pants matched my purse and they’re shiny…hot damn, I didn’t even notice…but they’re black, of course they’re going to match. REI somehow caught on that girls like this “hiking” thing and made clothing that are pretty for girls. I simply wanted some clothing that had “moisture-wicking” ability…if it happened to look good all the better. I tend to sweat buckets on the trail and could really use all the help I can get on staying dry...those pants convert to shorts too.
When we got to the trailhead, I started getting nervous…suddenly the idea of hiking uphill for 7 miles with a quarter of my weight on my back seemed scary. Daniel was there the previous weekend with another buddy of his, and his buddy only made it about 4.5 miles in before he collapsed so Daniel had to carry both their packs and find a decent place to camp (you’re not supposed to camp just anywhere there, that could get you a big ticket). I told him to not tell girls stuff like that right before their first backpacking trip. He assured me that his buddy wasn’t in hiking shape, whereas, if I could hike Mailbox for the fun of it, I should be fine. I think he gives me a little too much credit for being tough, little does he know I’m constantly about two steps from snapping and bawling like a bitchy princess. So we put on our gaiters and off we went with me leading the party since I will be the slowest with my short legs.
The day ended up extremely beautiful and sunny instead of rainy so the guys changed to shorts and t-shirts, which I would have opted for until I heard the word “ticks”. Fuck that, I prefer more sweating over blood-losing by skin-burrowing bugs. The hike ended up being a lot easier than I thought it would be…the trail had a nice steady incline without being too steep on any parts of it, most of the trail was nicely shaded too, so being in black wasn’t too bad either. We did the entire hike with only a few short breaks. Overall, I thought the trail would be pretty easy without the extra weight and every section of the trail was just gorgeous, words and pictures do not do the place justice. The two bad things about the trails had to be the many fallen trees in the first section, and trying to cross a cement dam at Snow Lakes.
Fallen trees on the trails suck so hard. You have to try to somehow climb over or limbo under the giant logs…very difficult with giant pack on your back. The cement dam is scary because even though the water is only about 6 inches or so high, the water is fucking freezing, so you don’t want to get your feet wet (if you don’t have gaiters, you’re fucked). The water is moving very rapidly from Upper Snow Lake to Lower Snow Lake, so you could get pushed off the cement wall, which is only about 1.5 foot wide. Dave’s advice on crossing this is to make sure your backpack is NOT strapped in, so that if you get pushed over, you can ditch your pack. Oh…we also saw a sickly mountain goat on the trail, which other hikers warned us could be aggressive so we need to scare it away in case it tries to push us off the ledge.
We made it to camp and started setting up. Backpackers are a different breed of geeks, we all compared our gears (we had just about 3 of EVERTHING, a bit excessive, but we liked having our own stuff), and marveled in their weight and effectiveness…oh and they made fun of my fabulous pink Therm-a-Rest…those jealous bastards. We piled on layers of clothing to sit around and watch the stars. I’m so glad Daniel invited Dave. The guy is such a fucking riot; he’s the type of guy who would naturally own a party because everything he says is so damned outrageous and funny. He farted all the way in and out of the trail.A few hours after we went to bed, the rain came pouring in. There’s nothing else quite like being all snuggly, warm and DRY in 30-something degrees weather while listening to the pitter-patter of rain on your tent.
Daniel had the bright idea to bring a tarp and set it up before we went to bed, so we had a nice shelter to sit under in the morning. While we sat around eating breakfast, I pointed out that there are fucking squirrels nearby…literally. Soon as I mentioned it, it became a squirrel orgy with squirrels crawling out of everywhere and nowhere. At least the squirrels settled a question I had for over a year…while I was working on the game for Narnia, we needed sound effects for squirrels, and the question was, “Do squirrels make noise?” I now know, they do…and they are damned loud…sounds a bit like birds.
We cleaned up and backpacked back out. My legs were bloody stumps by the end of it (carrying 30 extra lbs for 14 miles will do that to you)…but the trip was awesome. I can’t wait till the next. I would love to camp another night next time I come back just to have time to hike around to the other lakes. I've made a slide of a few pictures...really does not do the place justice (slide seems to work better in Explorer over Firefox). And a few more.
Home in Seattle, tonight. -->
My sister wanted to go out drinking, but sometimes...a walk alone is nicer.
posted by SteakGirl at 8:53 PM
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