about backpacking

Camping is a bit masochistic, no?  Yet I continue to endure it.  It's difficult and dirty and hot and cold and dirty and tiring and dirty. And while camping is all of those things, this past weekend we Draneys and Sauers made things more difficult, if that's even possible, by packing everything onto our backs and walking a mile away from the dedicated ipod charger that is our car.

After the exhausting mile hike up the most treacherous terrain known to man, also referred to as Horton Creek Trail 1: Grade Gentle, we picked the site we deemed would be most suitable for unicorn sitings...






... and a few gypsy children were spotted as well.







This gypsy girl gave a convincing modelesque pose...

...and of course man did the stupid manly stuff that man does when he's in the manly wilderness environment.











It's the poor, wincing manly-man on the bottom who came up with the grand idea to leave our DVRs and memory foam pillows.  Meals consisted of virtually weightless Mountain House dehydrated beef teriyaki, oatmeal, and a bag of crushed, dry peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Trader Joes sponsored our excursion by providing us with plenty of dehydrated fruit to snack on, as well as a carton of mush that once resembled inside-out carrot cookies that someone thought would last the trek smashed between 2 sleeping bags (all fingers point to myself). We truly lived off the land and used the creek to supply our water for cooking, washing, and re-hydrating.


We only suffered through a few injuries -
a broken toe of a 4 year old after a powerful stubbing and a thrown out back by the 34 year old Clintly-manly-man after trying to escape what he claimed to be a fire-breathing wasp (fly).


I did my best to steal this baby's affections...









... and while her mother slept in until 9am(!!), the cutest baby in existence napped on my shoulder while I whispered subconscious disapproval about her mother still sleeping even though the baby and her brothers had been up since 6am and I would never do that to her and I would never take her backpacking if she didn't want to go and I'll always give her cookies for dinner...











Asher somehow managed to become more God-like in that he suddenly became buoyant enough to walk on water...











... oh, nope, that's just a rock he's standing on which makes more sense since somehow he managed to set the world record for being tattled on for bad behavior 54.9 times in the span of 24 hours.


Good highlights you ask? I'd have to say it was my friend's fabulous pork burrito I finished off at the Mexican restaurant we dined in on the way up to Payson, and the mushroom, garlic, tomato pizza we ate on the way out.  Trend alert:  I like food.


crap, I guess maybe the good company and memories can be considered highlights, but please but don't tell Clint or Ryan I said that since they'll throw it in my face when I say no to the next backpacking trip.