Backpacking

I don't know how I ever thought 17 miles was going to be worth it. But as painful memories of the screaming pain in my shoulders and hips are slowly starting to fade (thanks to plenty of ibuprofen), I thought I'd post a few pictures before I forget what actually happened up in Middle Basin.

 We left right around 9. We didn't get up there until about 4:30 pm. It was kind of a hard hike. (understatement of the year)

 Christmas Meadows

 The first moose we saw!

 We saw two more way close to the path. They just stared. Luckily they walked away from us after Danny got closer.

 This is almost the end of civilization.

Parts of the path were soooo muddy. This is the on the way up. The way back was even worse. 

 We were so dirty. The WHOLE time.

 Middle Basin!

 Ryder Lake

 Don't ever buy this. "Chicken A La King" - which turned out to be a vegetarian meal. What? No chicken. awesome. NOT.

 So, story time: [David broke his shoes on the way up. When we got up to the campsite, there was a pair of shoes right where he set up our tent. He just threw them to the side thinking "who leaves a pair of shoes??" Later that night he was thinking about how he was ever going to make it down the mountain in his broken shoes. Then he remembered there was another pair of shoes up here. He tried them on, and get this --- THEY FIT. What are the chances?? So we burned his old ones and he wore the new ones down on the hike.  

 Full moon! Which is also a UFO?

 I caught my first fish! Overall, between all of us, we caught THIRTY fish. Right when the fish started jumping, we started catching them like crazy. It is addicting - that feel right when you know you've hooked them! 

 Lunchtime.

 This one was pretty good. 

 We hiked up to McPheters Lake. It was huge and gorgeous. And we got skunked there. No fish at all. But definitely a fun hike.

 There were probably 4 or 5 waterfalls here too.

 Pad Thai! The best dinner of them all. (Hey, Laura - we talked about how you guys went to Thailand to get Thai food, we just had to hike a mountain!)

And there is the end of the pictures. 

Here is what isn't in them: the pain, the mud, the gallons of water we drank/pumped, the pain in my hips that told me 8.5 miles was a bad idea, 30 fish, campfire conversations, the ridiculous amount of mosquitoes that we killed, using up 2 cans of bug spray before we were even on our way down, earplugs, banana boats around the fire, burning all our trash - and David's shoes, food poisoning, rain, and the LONG hike down.

The longest 17 miles of my life.

We were so ready to be done. I don't think we've ever been so happy to see a car, sit on a cushion, take a shower, comb my hair.

And now I'm so ready to sleep in my bed.

I might do it again - when I've blocked out the bad memories in a year or so.

 But right now, my body is reminding me why I'm not doing this again for a long time.

So good thing we took pictures!