We don’t do it for the food. The Raspberry Crumble looks worse than it tastes, though the freeze-dried eggs looked and tasted disgusting.
The tent looks cute but a bed beats out a sleeping bag and a thermorest pad.
The mosquitoes certainly don’t make this a better way to spend a vacation.
And sometimes the hiking uphill, at high elevation, is more of a challenge than any of us want.
But when we are done I think all of us – myself, my husband Jim, and our daughter Lizzie – would agree that we are looking forward to doing it again.
Maybe it is the incredible views.
Maybe it is the wildflowers, which were spectacular this year.
Mariposa Lily (Calochortus leichtlinii)
Or maybe it is the quiet and peace that allows us to listen to ourselves in way that is impossible with the distractions of modern living.
Whatever it is, we forget the lows and come back full of the highs of the back country. Here are some pictures of our five-day backpacking trip in Sequoia National Park (Twin Lakes Trail to Ranger Lake, over Silliman Pass, to Seville Lake, to Rowell Meadow, over JO Pass and back to the trailhead).
What a wonderful-sounding vacation! After a youth spent backpacking around Arizona, I decided my back needed a bed at night. I do miss the great places you can only go with a backpack, though. Glad you had a good time.
That sounds great! I do hope we'll see more wildflowers. <br /><br />I have to agree with you on the Thermarest, though. Somehow, the padding (on me) has moved to the wrong places, and I do prefer a bed…
Thanks for your comments, Oakwoods and TM. Hoping we can and will continue putting up with inconveniences cause I find myself thinking about the outdoors more and more when I get back to the city.