In my post about the first day of our backpacking trip, I left off here...
We had hiked up about 6.5 miles, I think (hubby has all the numbers) and reached the second of the Big Pine Lakes and decided to find a place to set up camp there because the snow was only getting deeper and deeper going up.
When we go hiking or backpacking, I am always reminded just how thankful I am for my husband. Chris is the master researcher. He reads forums and posts about different hikes and when are the more preferred/better times to hike certain trails. But he doesn't stop there. Because weather is never truly predictable, Chris had several different backpacking trip options ready. If the weather was super hot, we go one place, if it was expected to storm in the mountains, we'd go elsewhere, etc. Leading up to the trip, he was often to be found checking the weather forecast in the different areas.
And of course, he always makes sure that no matter what we have the proper supplies to survive in case there is an unexpected storm, or we hike through an area that isn't well marked and get off the trail. Over the years, he's found incredible steals on Ebay and got each of us a good warm backpacking sleeping bag, and packs, as well as other key items. He also bought topographical maps of the area because when I said he is prepared, I meant it. I know he loves me because he doesn't take any chances. He does the research and is willing to give up his "plans" to keep me (and on this particular hike- our daughter) safe even if it means that we don't reach the destination, climb the mountain, or find the shimmering lakes.
Seriously he's the best ever. I'm so incredibly blessed.
and yes, these pictures are all completely unedited. God is awesome.
He knows the dangers of altitude sickness and pays attention to how he and I are both feeling. If we need to slow down, we do. We remind each other to drink water and stop often to grab some nutrition. For this trip, we had Sophie, so we stopped even more so that I could rest my weary shoulders and so that we could make sure she was nursing frequently and staying hydrated too. And we both went in with the understanding that if either of us has the altitude sickness symptoms, we may not reach our goal, and that is o.k. I am truly thankful for Chris and his attitude with this, because it can be so dangerous and there's no doctor or hospital nearby if you make a choice to keep going despite the signs that someone is not faring well and there is an issue.
Our hope had been to do 2 nights at the lakes. We had planned to trek in and camp at lake 3 or 4 and then day hike to the other lakes and views the following day, then head back to where we'd set up camp for the next night, and hike back out the following day. But like I said, we have learned that it's best to be flexible and smart about your "plans".
The forecast had been for more of a dusting of snow over the weekend, but when we arrived and hiked in on Wednesday, we could see that the storm that had come through had dumped considerably more than a dusting. So we hiked in, not really knowing what we'd end up deciding to actually do or not do.
When we reached the second lake and there was already a considerable amount of snow on the ground, we opted to stop there. And we quickly decided that we'd probably skip our second night and day hiking trip further into the mountains. We were both bummed to miss out on seeing the other 5 lakes and the additional beautiful sights ahead, but we knew this was the safest decision.
As we set up camp, it was COLD. Freezing cold. We began our day in really hot temperatures down in Owen's Valley, so it was a bit surreal to be freezing our buns off just a few hours later. I cleared a small layer of snow for the tent and let Sophie have some time out of her pack inside. She was clearly happy to be able to move around a bit and crawled happily about.
Like socks for babies, gloves are a joke.
My solution for both? Big socks.
Big socks for her legs/feet (as seen in the first post) and big socks for her hands/arms (above)
Kept her warm and she couldn't get them off.
Meanwhile, Chris was cooking us up a hot meal on his backpacking stove. I love a man who can cook, especially after a day on the trail. :)
It was cold and we were tired from our day's sauntering, so we went to sleep pretty much as soon as the sun dipped below the mountains. Sophie snuggled in a sleeping bag with me and Chris had another next to us. And then we settled in for what turned out to be perhaps, the most uncomfortable night of my life. A few years ago we went backpacking when I was pregnant (see post here) and I thought that was uncomfortable, but this was even more so. With Sophie in the sleeping bag too, I could not roll over properly and I of course was taking special care not to crush or smother her, so that meant I could really never find even close to a comfortable position. I slept terribly (Sophie slept GREAT though which was a gi-normous blessing). But because I slept so lightly and kept waking up, I was up at first light and Sophie and I caught a gorgeous sunrise. It was hard to get a picture that really showed even a fraction of the color, but I got this (slightly blurry) shot of the painted sky over the valley.
To the right of the valley view you see above is the beautiful mountain lake view in the picture below. The sky was less dramatic and colorful, but the more subtle hues in the sky reflected on the water and were so lovely. Sophie and I just sat and enjoyed the loveliness of God's masterpiece for awhile until we heard Chris stirring.
I love this shot with the moon and the one star visible at the top of the shot.
Sophie and I took some silly selfies afterwards
playing in the pinecones
After a quick bite to eat, we began our descent. After studying the map, Chris discovered an alternate route that we could take for the last couple miles which would shorten our overall hike just a bit and also give us a slightly different adventure for part of the way back.
We made amazing time on our trek down despite still taking some time to stop and enjoy some lovely sights like this incredible view of Temple Crag.
And when we reached the car, we took a couple group selfies. We did it!
Sophie is sure proud of us- she was clapping!
In this one, she's all, "Hey, yeah nothing much. Just my first backpacking trip. Yeah, I'm 10 months; I'm pretty awesome- pretty much the best baby ever."
So grateful for God's beautiful creation and these two to share it with. So grateful that God helped me to get past my complaining about the amount of snow (and cold!) and have a lovely time despite the very cool temps. So grateful that we decided to change up our plans and be safe. So grateful for my incredible husband and our sweet Sophie who was truly the best baby ever.
That sunrise and view was certainly redeeming after a nearly sleepless night! Glad you enjoyed yourselves despite the lack of sleep!
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