Valuable Lessons Learned While Adventuring

Hey Guys!  So Mr and I completed our first backpacking trip together and it was amazing!  We drove up to the Mt Jefferson wilderness on a Sunday morning and boy was it pouring.  Once we got to the Pamelia Lake trailhead, we decided to eat lunch in the dry car first, hoping that the rain would clear up by the time we were done and it was!  We headed down the trail expecting a 5 mile hike, but only 2 miles in we were surprised to find the approved camp spaces and the lake.  The hike in wasn't too strenuous either as it was a pretty gradual slope up and we didn't gain a ton of elevation.  A great choice for a first time trip.  

We looked at the camping spots and chose one we thought would work well and started unpacking the tent.  I had just gotten everything laid out on the ground when we heard the thunder and looked across the lake at the quickly approaching thunder storm.  About 30 seconds later we also heard a funny buzzing noise, and Mr looked around the camp and found a GIGANTIC wasp nest in a tree a few feet from where we were going to pitch our tent.  With the impending storm we quickly grabbed our stuff and ran to the next site so we could set up before the rain started.  We successfully got the tent and rainfly up and staked in and felt our first rain drop.  We spent pretty much the rest of the first evening and night in the tent while it poured and thundered.  It was actually really cool and we were nice and dry.  Oddly, we were the only people camping there!

The second day we had a quick sprinkle after breakfast, but it cleared up very quickly and Mr and I decided to hike the trail around the lake and head towards Hunt's Creek.  It was an easy beautiful hike with lots of little creeks to cross.  The rest of our time at Pamelia Lake was fantastic as we just hung out by the lake or explored the woods around us.  Our hike out was cake and we stopped in Detroit at a little diner for lunch.  We are looking at planning a second trip soon!  And we will continue our weekend day-hikes until the rain stops us.

While getting out and about more, Mr and I have learned a few fun things about what to bring, what not to bring, etc.


Things I've learned during our various hiking/backpacking adventures:


1.  Bring Your Inhaler.  This only applies to folks that have one and sometimes need to use it.  I've been on two hikes recently where, for whatever reason,  I completely spaced out and didn't grab my asthma inhaler.  I don't have traditional asthma, my symptoms are largely related to allergy issues and I really only have troubles breathing when my allergies have been extremely bad (spring is when it's the worst).  I think because I don't have to regularly use my inhaler the thought to bring it along just gets lost in my  head.  It's not until we are climbing a steep mountain on a humid day and my allergies start acting up and I get winded taking 25 steps that I stop and realize I don't have the darn thing to help me out.  Then poor Mr has to stop and let me catch my breath every few minutes and our mountain hike takes way longer than it should and I feel like and out-of-shape idiot.

2.  Bring a Hair Tie.  We've talked about this before.  If you've got long hair, remember to bring something (rubber band, hair clip, headband, bandana) you can use to get it out of your face.  There is nothing more uncomfortable than constantly trying to keep the sweaty hair off of your sweaty face when you are hiking.  There is also nothing more silly looking than using your button up shirt as a turban to keep your hair out of your face.

3.  Bring your Trekking Poles!  Or a walking stick or whathaveyou.  Those babies really help to stabilize on uneven terrain and help take the strain off of your knees and other joints, especially going downhill.  Someone once explained it to me like this:  it's like having 4-wheel drive for your body.  Now instead of 2 points of contact,  you have 4.

4.  Sometimes the extra weight is worth it.  I know it sucks to have to carry everything you are going to need for a few days in 1 backpack and then hike with that loaded pack up into the mountains.  But sometimes I am so glad I packed that extra packet of hot chocolate or the inflatable seat pad so I'm not sitting on cold, damp ground.  I'm not saying pack everything and the kitchen sink, but pick a comfort or extra item that will make a difference to you.  Mr says we need lightweight packable chairs because we are getting too old to sit on the ground.  I think he's right.

5.  Research EVERYTHING!  If you don't know much about where you are going, look it up, buy a map, Google it, whatever.  If you don't know how to backpack, look it up- there are so many resources out there and how-to's you could spend days reading it all.  Knowledge costs nothing, weighs nothing and can save your life!

And now for some pics...