Backpacking

A couple of weeks ago I took a break from running and got to go backpacking with my dad, his friend and his grandson. Yes, I was the only girl, but my dad is still gracious enough to take his grown daughter backpacking with him, so I was excited. I guess it's not really considered a break from running because after hiking 6 miles with a 30lb. pack on my back, I basically feel the same as I do after running 15 miles. We left Thursday morning and set out for the Uintahs. We got to the trailhead and ate lunch before embarking on our journey. It's been 4 years since I've been backpacking, but I didn't remember it being quite as cool as we started off. The clouds were rolling in and I figured we'd get rain eventually, just didn't think it would be so soon after we started. We began our trek and about 45 minutes later the rain started. This is what it looked like.

This picture doesn't really do it justice. I don't know if you can tell, but it was raining in this picture, so we were hiking in the mud. There were a couple times that it just started pouring and we had to seek shelter under some trees to wait and see if it would let up. About an hour before we got to the campsite, it stopped raining. So, we didn't have to set up camp in the rain, so that was good. This is what it looked like when we got to camp.

That night was cold. 30 degrees. Yes, I said 30 degrees. I was shivering the entire night. My feet were still cold from hiking in the day before and didn't warm up until that afternoon.

Yes, that is frost that you see. It was a very cold night. The rest of the trip was great though. We hiked to a few lakes that day and they were gorgeous! I love the mountains. Here are some pictures:



My dad pointing to his GPS that is showing he made it to 11,000 feet.

Fishing at the lake by our campsite



And just to show that it doesn't always rain while backpacking, this is what it looked like as we hiked out on Saturday. It was a great trip. Thanks dad, for letting me tag along. Hope it's not another four years before I get to go again.