backpacking in the bells...or why not to pack three pounds of summer sausage












this summer christopher and i took a backpacking trip with a few good pals to the maroon bells. i was a little apprehensive about leaving harper for the first time ever, but i am so glad that we had this adventure together.

one of the reasons that we moved to colorado was to experience the beauty and nature that is just at our backdoor. christopher loves backpacking...the kind of camping where you carry everything that you need to survive for a week on your back. the kind that you hike all day long and do not take a warm soothing shower. the kind where you (cover your ears) poop in a hole and use a rock for toilet paper. so, as his loving wife i thought i might give it one more try. i had been on two other backpacking adventures with not the greatest experience. think dry deserts and lots of biting deer flies. with the assurance of the best guy around, this time would be different.

and it was. the first day was tough. we hiked nine miles with our packs full of food for the week. i think christopher's pack weighed about fifty pounds! (this is why you should not pack three pounds of summer sausage.) there might have been some hidden tears. and maybe a few cuss words in the mix, but i did it. and for the first time in a while, i felt like i had really accomplished something. i was newly pregnant too! the camp food never tasted so good. black beans, rice and summer sausage were like a five course meal to my rumbling stomach.

we spent our second day resting and enjoying the beauty of snowmass lake. we all jumped into the barely above freezing water and felt so refreshed. we ate and rested and were ready to summit buckskin pass the next morning.

on our third day, we saw the most beautiful scenes on the way up to buckskin summit. it was a steep and strenuous hike, but we had the reward of a peanut butter sandwich waiting for us at the top of the climb. we had another long day of hiking, but views that stunned the eyes. we set up camp at crater lake and tried to lighten our load as much as possible for our last day of hiking by eating everything that we could in our packs. mashed potatoes, sausage, quesadillas, almonds, raisins. i seriously can not think of that food without feeling a little queasy.

we hiked out the next morning bright and early and spend some time as maroon lake (pictured last). we were all ready to get some real fresh food in our bellies and get home. i could not wait to see harper and take a very long hot shower! the group had one last meal together at a restaurant (in our grubby camping gear) and parted ways. i am so thankful for this experience and have such fond memories of our adventure.



2 comments:

  1. The pictures are just gorgeous. P would look at this post and try to get me hiking too! Proud of you for doing it and embracing all of the experience...rock toilet paper and all. p.s. Still think you deserve your shopping spree, just sayin'.

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  2. gorgeous pictures! glad yall had a good trip! it'd be pulling nails to get me backpacking :) x

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