August Backpacking Trip Part 1

Not this past weekend, but the before it, we packed stuff on our backs and headed out into the Lost Creek Wilderness. Yes, this is the same place we always go backpacking. You might think it might get boring for us, but we discover new things every time we go, and it continues to be fun.

We do need to find another good spot for our family backpacking trips.

We actually did things a little differently this time than usual. Usually, we give ourselves a long weekend. We usually drive up to camp along a forest service road the first night and start our hike early on the following morning. This time, because of a work conflict (doesn't it suck when work gets in the way of real life), we only had a regular sized weekend (although I did get to get off work early Friday).

So, this time, we skipped the first night along the forest service road. We started out hike on the late afternoon that we got up there. We didn't go very far at all on that first afternoon / evening. Probably not much more than a quarter of a mile.

There are two creeks that merge where we camped. There is a campsite right along the trail, but we crossed the littler creek to get to a spot less out-in-the-open. It was a really nice spot.

Another thing we did differently, my wife and I brought beer. Usually, we don't bring beer (or any other alcoholic beverages) backpacking. This time, since the first night hike was such a short one, I decided to bring a couple Colorado pale ales and a couple of Blondes.

Camp setup went fine. My kids (mostly my younger son) collected firewood.

We had our dinner and beer.

After dinner, we hiked up the "other" trail to take time before starting the campfire. We got to a spot that I had used to hide from rain back during Sheppy Quest 2008.

Then, we headed back to camp and started the campfire. Turns out that another group took the campsite across the creek from us. We had to go through their site to get to ours. Not a big deal.

We enjoyed the campfire. Then, eventually, we got into the tent and got some sleep to rest up for the next day's hike.

Stay tuned for Part II.