Early August, 2021
Hiking into our backpacking spot was almost 13 miles and took almost all day. Since I’ve run a half marathon before (it’s the same distance), I didn’t think much of it and was gung ho about it all. Little did I know that it was more difficult than I thought and took ALL my brain power to get to that campsite that evening. The only other thing I was grateful for besides being outdoors was that the trail itself didn’t have strenuous uphills- except at Mile 4- that was killer… the whole trail was just long.
At 6 miles we needed to refill our water bottles. The only stream around was very low and I grimaced as Jesse filtered the water. It had a brown tint, but we needed to drink.
We got to our camp spot at sunset. There was no one else around (it was Friday) so we had the whole lake and space to ourselves. We worked together in unison to set up the tent quickly. We had headlamps but personally I like to have everything set up before dark.
The next day I was so exhausted that I decided to just stay behind while Jesse explored another trail and lake. I spent the whole day listening to “Crying in H Mart” by Michelle Zauner and making sure the chipmunks weren’t stealing our food and snacks. I was just halfway through my late lunch at 3pm when Jesse appeared from behind a few rocks. He had come back early. We spent the rest of the day exploring the rest of the lake. There were a few other backpackers around on this day since it was Saturday.
The next day (Sunday) we decided to start hiking out another (hopefully) shorter trail. I say hopefully because it was dependent on whether we were able hitch a ride the remaining four miles to our car. It was left at another trailhead. Today’s aim was to do half the trail today so we weren’t going to be exhausted on the last day.
We packed up, said goodbye to our camp site and headed out. We took our time resting and poking around all the lakes. It was such a great idea since I feel like we didn’t have time to stop and take in everything on the hike in. And plus, there were more lakes on this trail, meaning more opportunities for water.
We finally settled on a lake for the night. There was a single backpcker there. I had noticed her earlier in the day when we had stopped to take a break and she hiked past us. We hiked over the rocks to where she was camped and had a conversation with her. Turns out she was also walking out to the same trailhead the next morning. She had agreed to drive us to my car!
We woke up the next morning super early, around 6:45, since we wanted to walk ahead of her. We were only 3 miles from the trailhead at this point. It was by far the earliest I have gotten up to hike out while backpacking. The morning views out on the lake made it worth it.
Hiking out we ended up stopping and taking in the sights... that she caught up to us. it was at that point we hiked as fast as we could out. Thankfully it was a fairly easy hike out; we got to the trailhead earlier than we thought.
It turned out that she lived in the same area as us, but only for another two weeks! What were the odds? We felt bad since we didn’t realize the four mile drive to my car was all on gravel, but we insisted on giving her the only cash we had on us: $15.
Fortunately we all meshed well in the car ride over and ended up exchanging numbers, with the idea that we’d all make it out for a drink.
We were super appreciative that she was able to give us a ride; it certainly gave our minds and bodies ease. Still, we don’t regret anything. Like our other trips we enjoyed our ourselves, and that is always the most important part.
Comments