when you are on a backpacking trip. And oh, did it pour. We set off around 9pm on Friday, about 4 hours later than we had planned, and we hiked a little and set up our tent in the dark and all was well. It started raining very soon after we got into the tent, and we woke up lying in puddles. Not discouraged though, we changed into dry things and made breakfast and packed up, and hiked about 3 hours (in the rain) to the top of the mountain.
It was beautiful, we were up high, but the scenery below was mostly covered with fog, and everything was green, but with tinges of reds and yellows of the fall. We were drenched, inside and out, so we set up our (soaking wet) tent and bunkered down on a slant, since there wasn't really anywhere flat. But after changing into dry things they were wet within 15 minutes. So we made lunch and sat and shivered for about 2 hours, my brother slept and I read a little, and when he woke up we agreed we did not want to spend the night there, so we donned our damp things and packed up, and the trail down was a mud slip-n-slide. I would fall on my butt, and then just keep sliding for a long time, laughing the whole way. So muddy and wet we got picked up around 4pm. And the hot shower I took when I got home was the loveliest shower I have ever taken.It unsettles me a little how dependent I am on things like shelter and showers. But also, thinking about it, if it had kept raining like that, and we had no choice but to stay there, no way to get a ride home, we could have survived, we just wouldn't have hiked to the top in the rain. So its also a good feeling, of the ability to survive. But this is also with all our big packs of gear, a tent, a gas stove, freeze-dried food, raincoats, polypros, etc. Fancy camping stuff. I used to love the book My Side of the Mountain. I love the idea of putting everything you need on your back, and then living off the land for the rest of it. Of being primal. I love it. But thats a love I conjured while curled up in my warm bed, reading it. Doing it takes a whole other kind of strength. I don't have any pictures because I was afraid to get the camera wet. And its a film camera as well, its the film camera I'm using for my photography class. But the mountain picture is out of my window this morning, and is mostly what we saw at the top of the mountain: fog. One of my favorite weathers. I love how magical and mystical and mysterious it is.
Today is a homework day, as Sundays usually are. So I've spread out on my bed and gotten to work. With sufficient breaks, of course.
It was beautiful, we were up high, but the scenery below was mostly covered with fog, and everything was green, but with tinges of reds and yellows of the fall. We were drenched, inside and out, so we set up our (soaking wet) tent and bunkered down on a slant, since there wasn't really anywhere flat. But after changing into dry things they were wet within 15 minutes. So we made lunch and sat and shivered for about 2 hours, my brother slept and I read a little, and when he woke up we agreed we did not want to spend the night there, so we donned our damp things and packed up, and the trail down was a mud slip-n-slide. I would fall on my butt, and then just keep sliding for a long time, laughing the whole way. So muddy and wet we got picked up around 4pm. And the hot shower I took when I got home was the loveliest shower I have ever taken.It unsettles me a little how dependent I am on things like shelter and showers. But also, thinking about it, if it had kept raining like that, and we had no choice but to stay there, no way to get a ride home, we could have survived, we just wouldn't have hiked to the top in the rain. So its also a good feeling, of the ability to survive. But this is also with all our big packs of gear, a tent, a gas stove, freeze-dried food, raincoats, polypros, etc. Fancy camping stuff. I used to love the book My Side of the Mountain. I love the idea of putting everything you need on your back, and then living off the land for the rest of it. Of being primal. I love it. But thats a love I conjured while curled up in my warm bed, reading it. Doing it takes a whole other kind of strength. I don't have any pictures because I was afraid to get the camera wet. And its a film camera as well, its the film camera I'm using for my photography class. But the mountain picture is out of my window this morning, and is mostly what we saw at the top of the mountain: fog. One of my favorite weathers. I love how magical and mystical and mysterious it is. 
Today is a homework day, as Sundays usually are. So I've spread out on my bed and gotten to work. With sufficient breaks, of course.
1 comment:
poopoo, robin is a doody face.
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