We decided to go camping for our 1st anniversary. It was actually my idea to go. We couldn't have asked for a better weekend of weather. It was simply perfect.
Friday
7:15am Kyle is packed. I have things strewn all over the house and my pack is still empty. I leave my camera on the table for Kyle to go find a replacement battery and head off to work.
10:00pm I'm still not packed, just can't decide what clothes to wear. Kyle has forgotten to get my battery, stating that the camera worked just fine the other day when he used it. I am busy packing and overlook this detail.
Saturday
9:00am I am finally packed, we say our goodbyes to Lola, grab some breakfast and head out.
12:00pm We arrive at Giant City State Park and set up our space pod home.
12:30pm Head into town for lunch and to get a few last minute supplies.
3:00pm We're back at our campsite and ready to go for a day hike before it gets dark. I get my camera out to take some pictures of our site and of course it doesn't turn on. At this point I yell at Kyle that I was right again and my camera was not working and now I can't take pictures of all the beautiful scenery we were hiking through tomorrow!
3:05pm We decide to drive back into town and see if we can find a battery and a car-charger. We spend forever at Best Buy looking for a way to hook a battery charger up to our car and charge the battery. No luck. Kyle suggests that we use disposable cameras. I am positive this will be terrible, but finally agree that a few pictures is better than none. We get the cameras and I try not to cry the whole way to our camp. I am after all, an adult. I convince myself that not having a camera is a selfish thing to worry about so by the time we're back at camp I'm in a much better mood. Besides, with campfire and leaves falling, it's hard to stay mad.
6:00pm I practice whittling with my knife to make smores sticks. Kyle makes 3 sticks while I am halfway done with my 1st one.
7:00pm Smores. Mmm!
Sunday
8:00am We pack up, check our gear, and get ready to leave. Somehow in packing we've lost a bag for part of the tent supplies, we check everywhere but my sleeping bag because I am positive it couldn't be in there.
9:30am We head out to start our 9.6 mile hike on the River to River Trail to our campsite.
9:32am My pack feels heavy and doesn't fit right. Kyle tightens my straps and I'm ready to go.
10:00am From here on out, the time is all a blur. We walked for 6 hours, stopping every so often because of my chest pains, lack of breathing, thinking we might be lost, my feet getting tired, thinking I have to pee but once my pants are down, I can't because I'm in the woods. At one point I threw off my 35 lb back pack (which according to Kyle is only 20 lbs) and nearly vomited. After some water and a rest I was fine. We kept on walking and walking and walking.
Kyle's favorite moment: As we were walking up some steep areas there was a tree blocking the trail. We had been going up steep hills and I was near death. Kyle goes up steeper ground to get around the fallen tree. I decided barrel-rolling under the tree will be my path of choice. As I lay down to go under and start to roll my pack "thud!" hits the tree. I shimmy under sideways, exhausted and then on my back like a turtle on it's shell. I manage to get up stating that "yes I'd rather barrel-roll under a tree, then walk another step in the upwards direction."
3:30pm We finally arrive at our campsite in Panther's Den. I try to pee again. No luck-someone might see me. I discover that my backpack has rubbed a burn on my entire lower back, I have blisters on both feet and seem to have pulled some muscle in my chest from the way my backpack was pulling on my shoulders. We set up camp and are so exhausted we collapse in our tent and fall asleep. We finally get up and do some hiking around our campsite and collect firewood for our fire. Finally, I have to pee bad enough that I can. It wasn't so bad after all.
It was absolutely the most beautiful weekend to be there. As we were surrounded by beautiful rock formations and trees, it was so serene. We just sat there and watched the leaves falling slowly to the ground. I would have some really fantastic pictures of the scenery except that I didn't have my camera. Sigh.
That night we had our fire going and were entertained by a group of college kids that passed through a few times to their campsite. They brought beer and guitars but didn't seem to have any flashlights. When I climbed in my sleeping bag I got my foot tangled in something, turns out, I accidentally packed the missing tent bag in my sleeping bag after all. Oops. I spent most of the night listening to strange sounds outside the tent and waiting to chase any animals off that got close to my pack which was outside the space pod.
Monday
8:00am We had breakfast and headed out to get more water from a lake nearby. Kyle has a fancy filtration system that makes water safe for drinking. I didn't think I wanted to drink lake water, but it came out clear so I decided it was okay.
We filled up our bottles and headed back to camp. We packed everything up and after careful consideration, we decided that we wouldn't have enough time to hike the 9.6 miles back in time for me to get home and ready for work the next day. So we bandaged up my blisters, and hiked 3 miles back to the nearest trail head. That's when we called Kyle's sister for backup. She was headed to St. Louis to go shopping, but her boyfriend was nearby taking his dog out for a hike, so she sent him to come pick us up.
My favorite moment: Connor and his doggie came to our rescue!
Things we learned from our hiking trip:
-Kyle learned that hiking with a girl is different than hiking with his guy friends. I will not keep my pain to myself just so no one thinks I"m a sissy. He says I hike like a girl. Yes. I do.
- I was right. Kyle thought my pack was 20 lbs I told him it was more than that for sure! It was 22lbs.
-I should probably start working out. That hike was quite painful.
-Disposable cameras do exist and they actually work. Although most of our pictures were too dark to tell what they were.
-We should go more often for sure!
Happy1st Anniversary!
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