I was instructed to pack what I though I would need, including crampons, harness, helmet, and ice axe. I spent the entirety of Sunday evening organizing,
and packing my equipment into a Kelty Agile 4500 cu in. pack. It took at least 5 times of repacking.
I chose a diet of ramen noodles, cliff bars, pop tarts, peanut M&Ms, water, and trail mix. I would never....EVER bring ramen again, I forgot how much I disliked it.
After staying up late Sunday and Monday night preparing for my trip, I worked till noon on Tuesday and was picked up at 12:30, and headed towards the East Portal Trailhead of the James Peak Wilderness.
This is where the trail began, and I was carrying between 40-50lbs of gear...most of which was unnecessary. It was certainly a difficult task for one who's not carried more than 30lbs, and I was very slow. This almost certainly perturbed my trip leader, who I'm sure wanted to make destination and complete the prescribed trip. I felt terrible for being slow, but I am going to continually train to increase endurance, so hopefully....if there is a next time-- I will hold my own better.
We made it up near Rogers lake-- the weather was enough to be annoying-- rain, thunder, and some lightening strikes. We set up camp in a great area, in a stand of pine trees, between snowfields and the mountain brook.
This is the view from the camp kitchen, which was at least 50 ft from the site, flanked by this:
I was able to play with my crampons, after I changed into dry clothes, and warmed my feet up some. After dinner the sky started to clear up, and we were able to see the most amazing view of the stars. I've never seen so many stars in my life, and was happy to be there. Sleep was interesting and a slight downward angle, I found myself down at the bottom of the sleeping bag more than once.
Morning came, with clear skies, and an amazing view. I was slightly sore, but having coffee and pop tarts in such a breathtaking location was probably one of my favorite moments so far in life.
The view from breakfast.
We packed up the gear, and started down the trail, back to the car... but not without looking back at the campsite.
There were amazing views of wildflowers, and the brook tumbling down next to the trail.
What took us 4 hours to complete the day before, took about an hour and a half to descend. Once in the lower elevations, there were beautiful flowers, an interesting stream crossing, and the amazing sunshine!
Wild columbine!
And finally we reached the border of the wilderness, and entered civilization again. It was disappointing feeling, especially when I would have stayed in the wilderness.
My first experience backpacking was...despite minor annoyances, such as cold feet, wet socks, rain, and a heavy pack, AMAZING. I can't wait to go on another trip, hopefully with some training, I'll become a great distance backpacker/mountaineer! :)
As far as gear is concerned: I would not ever bring a camelbak with me again, it leaked, and there is an abundance of mountain streams with amazing water! I also am going to replace the cheap Kelty pack that I purchased years ago, ignorantly, with a new Golite Terrono 65. Hiking in tights, is AMAZING, and I will probably do that WAY more often. And lastly, I will bring less food, it was unnecessary to have so much. This may change, but I will be working on paring down my pack for comfort and efficiency. Here is my pack after the trip:
Me!
My trip leader:
