My Backpacking Adventure [in the High Uintahs] (Facebook note transfer)

I went backpacking last weekend in the middle of July. It was pretty much my first time. There was me, and Ben, and my cousin Flint. So the plan was to do King's Peak, the highest point in Utah. We got to the trailhead at about 9pm Thursday, after some adventures including traversing a police roadblock and getting lost on some unmarked dirt roads. When the directions include a sentence that says "follow the road as it curves west then turns directly east" then you probably would get lost too. After acquiring a map we were fine. So, we started up the trail at 9:30 and went about a mile and a half in the dark. Ben and I are getting pretty good at hiking in the dark. Well, it was the night before the full moon, and we could actually see the moon this time, so it wasn't as trudgy as it's been sometimes.

While the guys set up camp (I slept in Flint's tent, Flint and Ben slept in Ben's tent), I tried to use my awesome astronomy skills to figure out what time it was. Result: 12 noon. I think I need to go back and check out the formulas again . . . . Although, I tried it again the next night and got 10pm when it was 9:55, so I might know what went wrong. I still need to check my sources.

Other random conversation from Thursday night:
(Sharon walking through the woods in the dark)
Ben: Sharon, are you a bear?
Sharon: Aaarrr
Ben: Oh, just a pirate
Sharon: Raaawr
Ben: A pirate with a lisp!
Sharon: *cough* *cough*
Ben: Oh, great, we've got a pirate with lung cancer

On Friday we packed up and went for it. I was in heaven! I can't tell you how beautiful it was up there! All natural. Green. Peaceful. Just beautiful. For a few miles the trail just cuts through this huge meadow. It's a very gentle trail, too--great for backpacking. There is this pass you have to cross eventually. That means you come to a ridge, climb 500 feet up it, then go 500 feet back down the other side. When you have pretty much never been that high in elevation (the top of the pass was 11,900') that's not so cool. I admit it was gratifying to get to the top, but losing that 500' right after didn't make the ascent to the peak (13,500') look too [can't think of word].

We pitched camp in that basin thinking we would go to bed early, get up early, and summit the thing on Saturday. But, being adventurous as we are, we decided to attempt the summit that night. I think we started back up on the trail at about 5:00. Flint took food and supplies in his pack and Ben and I took water and didgeridoos (they make great hiking sticks!). Let me tell you, once you get up to the peak-ish area, there is not trail anymore. Just rocks. As late as it was (after 7), we had to turn back before getting to the top because trying to get down after the sun goes down would not have been safe. Yes, it was the full moon that night, but this wasn't a situation to take chances in. The moon didn't come up very fast. It was dark well before we made it back to camp and the moon rose only a few minutes before we got there. The entire length from trailhead to peak is about 16 miles, and I believe we did 13.5.

Maybe if it weren't for me, the guys could have done it, but my body wasn't keeping up with the altitude change very well and I had to go pretty slow. The next time you try to gain 2,000' in elevation over two miles beginning at 11,400 after hiking 10 miles with a pack on let me know how it goes! Remember, this was my first time backpacking. I think it was my first time being that high in elevation besides in an airplane before, too. And, I wasn't exactly in perfect health. backpacking in the high Uintahs with a runny nose and sore throat probably wasn't the best idea. So I am pretty proud of myself for getting so far! And, now I know what to do differently if I ever do King's Peak again.

After that amount of fun, we elected to go to bed and sleep in in the morning. I made it to 7am. I actually kind of like camping, because the sun gets you up at a decent hour and it's hard to sleep in, which I do all the time and it's such a waste! Other strange tangent, sorry. I don't know what time we left camp, but we had about 11 or 12 miles to cover. I also don't know what time we got to the car, but I do know we got dinner in Evanston around 5:00

So, my rewards from this trip:
-very sore legs.
-About 50 mosquito bites (I'm not going to count, because Saturday morning I counted 11 just on one forearm. I tell you those things were rabid! You stop and they all swarm you. Even with bug spray on. I hope rabid doesn't translate into West Nile Virus . . .)
-Sore shoulders
-bruised hips (never worn a pack like that before)
-One toenail in really sad shape (yes the trail is gentle, but going downhill is rough anyway, and then I kicked a rock and clipped a tree root in succession, immediately followed by this stabbing pain, which dulled into an ache and the nail turned all black. Ew)
-Not very many pictures (I was too worried about being able to breathe to worry about getting out the camera very often)
-really sore legs and shoulders
-apparently I got the top of my head sunburned. That's always gross.
-lots of awesome memories! I love the outdoors!