I went on my 2nd backpacking trip last weekend at Henry Coe State Park with the Loma Prieta Backpacking Section of the Sierra Club. I decided to bring my heavy SLR camera this time, and it was almost 70% worth the trouble. I am saying 70% because I got some good pics BUT that thing is a heavy bugger and there were times during the hike when I wished I could toss it down the cliff (but they teach us to "Leave No Trace" and so I didn't do it). I posted some of the pics at my Flickr site. My scanner was acting up so the colors aren't as good as I'd like, though.
I have to say that this trip kicked my ass. The hike from the trailhead to the campsite was 4 miles downhill, at times the trail felt like it was a 45-degree angle or more. And of course, the hike back to the trailhead was even worse. We took a route that was not as steep, but quite long. 5 miles, uphill 700 feet. My backpack was probably 30 pounds more or less. All I had in there were essentials – tent, sleeping bag, cookware, clothes, food, water, and other miscellaneous (but necessary) crap. But the damn thing felt like I was carrying a patio set and a cabana boy. (Ah, would that I could! A girl can always dream, right?)
It is Monday today and it's been 24 hours since the hike but I am in paaaiiinnn. Hahahaha thank heavens for Advil! It was funny how any downhill incline is causing me so much pain today – even the *&^%$ wheelchair access ramps on the sidewalk, for heavens sake! I noticed I was walking like an arthritic grandmother and so I decided to fix my gait to keep from walking lopsided. Unfortunately I think I may have looked like a cocky teenager instead. But hey, cocky teenager looks better than arthritic grandmother. Besides, I'm turning 30 this year (and by Filipino standards, a frumpy old spinster hahahaha) so I guess it's a good excuse to look "cool" for a little while.
Anyway, on the trip home last Sunday I told my friends that I might pass up on the last trip. It is a 3-day, 2-night trip in the High Sierras. If the Henry Coe trip was classified a "moderate" trip, the Sierra one would be "strenuous" (according to one of the instructors). I hate to back out, but I have to recognize my limitations here. They are all encouraging me to go, but I told them I have been living in a vegetative state for most of my life and I can't become SuperHikerGirl in 1 month. My friend told me that I should just go on my own pace, it doesn't matter if I'm slower because it just gives them more time to chill and drink sodas in the parking lot. That's easy for him to say – he's in Stanford's competitive rowing team! I told them I will build up my endurance by going on regular hikes around the San Francisco Bay Area, but there's no way I'll get conditioned for a "strenuous" hike in a few days. I'll have to cool my heels for now and just gradually work my way up to that level. I'm not considering it as a defeat. Just a postponement. I've got lots of time. :-)
It was raining in the 50's during the hike home, and there were many times in those 5 miles that I started to ask myself what in the hell am I doing here and why would I want to put myself in this kind of horrible situation? And then finally during the last mile or so, I glanced up and realized I'd reached a clearing and saw the mountains around me and the view took my breath away. A voice inside me said that's why. It was already almost level ground near the top of the mountain (Where the parking lot was) but I had to slow my pace to soak in the sights. It was incredible – the rain, the view, the solitude- it had been a while since I'd felt such inner peace. It made me forget the heavy backpack and the grueling hike I'd just been through. (At this point, I was already hiking by myself [I preferred it that way] – the faster hikers have long since passed me and the slower hikers still a long ways down.) It just strengthened my resolve to do solo hikes in the future. My camera had run out of film too, and it was raining too hard and too risky to open my camera. I really wanted to take pictures of that awesome view.
No big deal, though – I can always close my eyes and see it fresh in my mind anytime.
