It's been awhile since I have posted. For the first time in my trip it was a struggle to even have cell phone service and internet access for the past four days! First on my backpacking trip and then in Joshua Tree there was virtually no service unless you left the park or hiked really high up both things I ended up doing a handful of times. Anyway, it has been a great couple of days getting out of the city and back into nature!
Let's start off with the backpacking trip. So Friday night I met up Marianna's cousin Dana and her husband Daniel or "D". We had a blast. They used to live in North Park before moving outside the city to La Mesa so they were excited to hang out in their old stomping grounds and see how much has changed and stayed the same. We bar hopped around and got sushi for dinner at one of their favorite places. It was a really nice time and I hope to hang out with them more in the future. Dana is really welcoming and has invited me to a handful of things they have planned already including Thanksgiving with Daniel's family, which is really nice of them.
I didn't get much sleep and had to be up super early to meet the backpacking group so I was a bit tired and had no idea what to expect. There were a total of eleven of us on trip and it was about two and half hours outside San Diego. Once we met at the trailhead we had to drive our cars on a crazy dirt road for about eight miles only going about 10 miles an hour. I decided to get my first car wash of the trip to save twenty cent per gallon on gas right before that...whoops!
The eleven backpackers varied in ages from mid-twenties to mid-fifties. Some people were very experienced and then there was me...😳. The one backpacker Adam just finished hiking practically the entire Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), for six months. He had to stop with less than 180 miles left due to an injury. We all weighed our packs prior to departing and I was the heavy weight coming in at 32.9lbs. There was one other girl, Averi very close behind me with a pack that weighed around the same. Most of the others had packs weighing between 12-16lbs, so mine was double! Now right of the bat I can tell you I didn't buy an ultra-light tent or sleeping bag because I didn't
know how much backpacking I was going to do and to save a pound in weight you are spending a lot more money. However, I had no idea what I was getting myself into and I thought "Eh, it's only a 7 mile hike with one overnight I am bringing whatever I want." Which meant I brought a camping chair, a huge lantern, a stake mallet, and countless other ridiculous items. Needless to say when the group saw some of these items they nearly fell over. They referred to my lantern as bug zapper and said that I could have bought something the size of my fist that weighs less than a half a pound and produces more light. I explained to them that I had that lantern for 10 years, I wasn't going to go buy something when I had a perfectly good one. I get it though, technology has changed so much. The one couple had a two person tent that weighed 22 ounces! It looked about as big as mine.
know how much backpacking I was going to do and to save a pound in weight you are spending a lot more money. However, I had no idea what I was getting myself into and I thought "Eh, it's only a 7 mile hike with one overnight I am bringing whatever I want." Which meant I brought a camping chair, a huge lantern, a stake mallet, and countless other ridiculous items. Needless to say when the group saw some of these items they nearly fell over. They referred to my lantern as bug zapper and said that I could have bought something the size of my fist that weighs less than a half a pound and produces more light. I explained to them that I had that lantern for 10 years, I wasn't going to go buy something when I had a perfectly good one. I get it though, technology has changed so much. The one couple had a two person tent that weighed 22 ounces! It looked about as big as mine.
Overall, I was not the least experienced person there. There was a couple that this was there first overnight backpacking trip as well. The wife, Adrianna, had a pretty tough time overall both the way up and back. They are going to Peru to climb Machu Picchu and are trying to do things in
preparation for that. When I signed up for the trip I didn't know what elevation and gains really meant or what to compare it to. I just knew that it was about 6 to 7 miles one way. I thought piece of cake I have been doing a bunch of long hikes and some high elevations. Well 30lbs on your back definitely makes a huge difference. Basically gain is how steep the mountain is. So how quickly the elevation changes. Someone like myself that really isn't used to high altitude or someone like Adrianna who has iron deficient anemia may have problems breathing. We took the Fuller Ridge Trail to our campsite which was a 6.5 mile trail and had 2,800ft gain. This took us about 4 hours. Once we set up camp and rested a bit most of us took the 1.3 mile trip up to the summit, an additional 300ft gain, to watch the sunset which was spectacular. You had a panoramic view of the sunset as well as the soon to be 'supermoon' rising. Three of us hung out at the summit until it was pretty dark which made it a little challenging to navigate our way back down the boulders in the dark. Back at camp the one thing I didn't spurge on was food. I brought my typical Clif bars and protein powder. It was extremely cold at the campsite and fires were prohibited. The temperature was about 30 degrees but I was not prepared at all for that. As some of you may remember I brought all my winter clothes home. We broke the rules and had a small fire anyways but overall it was chilly night. My sleeping bag was very good at keeping me warm, I was actually hot in it.
preparation for that. When I signed up for the trip I didn't know what elevation and gains really meant or what to compare it to. I just knew that it was about 6 to 7 miles one way. I thought piece of cake I have been doing a bunch of long hikes and some high elevations. Well 30lbs on your back definitely makes a huge difference. Basically gain is how steep the mountain is. So how quickly the elevation changes. Someone like myself that really isn't used to high altitude or someone like Adrianna who has iron deficient anemia may have problems breathing. We took the Fuller Ridge Trail to our campsite which was a 6.5 mile trail and had 2,800ft gain. This took us about 4 hours. Once we set up camp and rested a bit most of us took the 1.3 mile trip up to the summit, an additional 300ft gain, to watch the sunset which was spectacular. You had a panoramic view of the sunset as well as the soon to be 'supermoon' rising. Three of us hung out at the summit until it was pretty dark which made it a little challenging to navigate our way back down the boulders in the dark. Back at camp the one thing I didn't spurge on was food. I brought my typical Clif bars and protein powder. It was extremely cold at the campsite and fires were prohibited. The temperature was about 30 degrees but I was not prepared at all for that. As some of you may remember I brought all my winter clothes home. We broke the rules and had a small fire anyways but overall it was chilly night. My sleeping bag was very good at keeping me warm, I was actually hot in it.
The next day we all got up pretty early and started our descent down. It was much easier than the way up but still took about 3 hours. By that point my body was sore; my shoulders, my knees, my hips. Adam offered to have a class during the week on ways to lighten your pack. I would totally go. I mean realistically I didn't know what I was getting into at all and next time I will not bring a lot of the things that I brought. It inspired me to want to only bring my backpack with me when I go to Hawaii. I think I will want to bring too many outfits.
Of course at one point on the trip I found out Renee was a hiring recruiter for United Healthcare Optum Rx Mail Order. She said she mostly worked with pharmacy technicians but she would gladly get me a job as a pharmacist if I was interested. No one else in the group seemed to have to disclose there past, but Renee seemed to ask a lot of questions. So of course I said I was widowed and my husband worked for Optum Rx in Maryland doing medication therapy management.
It was a lot of firsts. My first meet-up group experience and my first overnight backpacking experience. I would definitely do both again. One major take away was that the amazing journey I think I am on is nothing compared to some of these people. Half of the group quit their jobs have blogs, Intagrams with thousands of followers, and are doing things I would never even consider. The girl Averi spend her summer cycling across the United States. She is applying for sponsors so she can get paid to blog and post on Instagram as a traveling cyclist. When I told her I had a blog and an Instgram that mostly my friends and family read and follow, she thought it was cute.
I am not doing any of this for sponsors or followers. I am doing this for me. I am hitting the reset button on my life and if people want to read along as I find my own inner peace and happiness so I don't feel so alone in this journey then that makes me happy...AROOO WOOOO!!!!
Song of the Day
"Come Alive" The Hip Abduction. Another song found through Spotify discover weekly playlist. I am really enjoying these playlists they come up with for me. The hip abduction is how my hips are feeling after being taking over by my 32.9lb backpack!
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