This is me smiling. The only smiling that I did on this particular backpacking trip is on Saturday and when we got to our car on Sunday.
Things I've learned:
1. Carrying a backpack on your back makes hiking at least twice as hard.
2. Water is heavy.
3. Mud makes hiking at least twice as hard.
4. Sleeping on a hard ground sucks.
5. Rain makes everything very wet, very heavy, and very awful!
6. And for some positives--the trail that we went on was beautiful!
7. Freeze dried food really isn't all that bad.
8. Chad is an excellent planner--all of our food, water, equipment, maps, etc. worked perfectly.
9. Chad and I are tougher than I originally thought.
10. Chad is an eternal optimist, even in the rain when I'm yelling at him.
Quick Overview of the Trip:
Saturday: Arrived at 3 and hiked for 5 hours for a total of approximately 9-10 miles. Stopped to set up camp when we were deliriously tired. Sleeping on the ground without an air mattress is not fun, even when you're dead tired.
Sunday: It wasn't supposed to rain until 11 or 12 in the afternoon; however, we woke to raindrops on the tent at 6:30/7. Then, I spent the worst morning hiking that I have ever experienced. It was absolute misery. I actually cried...twice. I wanted to give up countless times but I had to keep sloshing through the deep mud, hills, tree branches, and never ending trail because I had to keep going or die. At 10:30, 5-6 miles later, our nightmare ended when we reached the car.
Even though I was intent upon selling my recently purchased backpack on ebay on Sunday, I think that I'll backpack again...when there is no rain.
