the Great Outdoors, part 3
After our 10-mile hike on Saturday, and climbing over 180 flights according to our Fitbits, our bodies were craving carbs. We raided our "Backpacker's Pantry" and came up with Lasagna. As soon as it started cooking it smelled exactly like we'd put a lasagna in the oven. And it tasted just as good!
I filtered some more water and did our dishes in the lake. Then Rand pulled out another tasty treat as a surprise... Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! This treat was extra special because I know Rand can't eat them (they give him migraines). So I knew he'd been thinking only of me when he froze them before we left on our trip and carried them out into the backcountry. I savored my chocolate and peanut butter as we finished the last of our red wine, looking out at the mountains and the water, thankful for every moment.
It was much colder this second night than it had been the previous evening, and we were extra tired, so we crawled into our tent at 8 p.m. We'd patched the torn sleeping mat so Rand would have something to sleep on, and even brought my camping chair into the tent and laid it out for Jovi. I read for an hour until it grew too dark, and by then Jovi and Randy were already snoring.
We slept much better this second night, and only woke up when a tree fell in the forest. The cracking of the tree sounded like a gun shot right outside our tent. "That answers that," Rand said, referring to the old joke about "if a tree falls in the woods..."
Jovi cried when she woke up the next morning, sore and tired from the previous day's hike. Rand and I each took an aspirin and put one in Jovi's food too. We had our morning coffee, followed by granola with milk and bananas. It was way better than the scrambled eggs we'd had the morning before.
We took our time packing up camp. Rand organized our remaining food while I filtered water, did one last load of dishes in the lake, and simply breathed in the Sunday morning air. We packed our sleeping bags and pads and tent and all our trash. And said goodbye to our weekend home.
We had a 5 or 6 mile hike to our car, and the views along the way were spectacular. We stopped after a couple of miles to give Jovi water and eat some fruit ourselves. The aspirin had kicked in and we were all feeling good, happy to be outdoors, happy to be hiking, happy to be together.
A group of backpackers we had seen down at the cascades the previous day hiked past us. They walked single file with their heads down. One guy's shoes looked 4 sizes too big. Even their dog looked worn out. "They look miserable," I said, to which Rand agreed. "Did they forget that they are on an adventure?" we wondered. "You should tell them that 2 years ago you were walking across Spain with a broken foot," Rand offered.
It was a perfect reminder for why I am so thankful to be doing what I do.
The fact that I can hike, camp, and carry a backpack at all is something I am truly grateful for! The fact that God continues to use me to be his hands and feet in this world is humbling. So in those moments when life feels heavy and hard, I make the choice to be intentionally grateful for every step, every breath, every climb, every person on the journey with me. Because those are all things that could have been taken away from me if I'd have allowed any of those injuries to steal my joy or my love for the Great Outdoors.
I filtered some more water and did our dishes in the lake. Then Rand pulled out another tasty treat as a surprise... Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! This treat was extra special because I know Rand can't eat them (they give him migraines). So I knew he'd been thinking only of me when he froze them before we left on our trip and carried them out into the backcountry. I savored my chocolate and peanut butter as we finished the last of our red wine, looking out at the mountains and the water, thankful for every moment.
It was much colder this second night than it had been the previous evening, and we were extra tired, so we crawled into our tent at 8 p.m. We'd patched the torn sleeping mat so Rand would have something to sleep on, and even brought my camping chair into the tent and laid it out for Jovi. I read for an hour until it grew too dark, and by then Jovi and Randy were already snoring.
We slept much better this second night, and only woke up when a tree fell in the forest. The cracking of the tree sounded like a gun shot right outside our tent. "That answers that," Rand said, referring to the old joke about "if a tree falls in the woods..."
Jovi cried when she woke up the next morning, sore and tired from the previous day's hike. Rand and I each took an aspirin and put one in Jovi's food too. We had our morning coffee, followed by granola with milk and bananas. It was way better than the scrambled eggs we'd had the morning before.
We took our time packing up camp. Rand organized our remaining food while I filtered water, did one last load of dishes in the lake, and simply breathed in the Sunday morning air. We packed our sleeping bags and pads and tent and all our trash. And said goodbye to our weekend home.
We had a 5 or 6 mile hike to our car, and the views along the way were spectacular. We stopped after a couple of miles to give Jovi water and eat some fruit ourselves. The aspirin had kicked in and we were all feeling good, happy to be outdoors, happy to be hiking, happy to be together.
A group of backpackers we had seen down at the cascades the previous day hiked past us. They walked single file with their heads down. One guy's shoes looked 4 sizes too big. Even their dog looked worn out. "They look miserable," I said, to which Rand agreed. "Did they forget that they are on an adventure?" we wondered. "You should tell them that 2 years ago you were walking across Spain with a broken foot," Rand offered.
It was a perfect reminder for why I am so thankful to be doing what I do.
- 2 years ago I was recovering from a broken foot.
- 6 years ago on the fourth of July I broke a rib.
- 17 years ago I spent the entire summer in a wheelchair with two broken ankles.
The fact that I can hike, camp, and carry a backpack at all is something I am truly grateful for! The fact that God continues to use me to be his hands and feet in this world is humbling. So in those moments when life feels heavy and hard, I make the choice to be intentionally grateful for every step, every breath, every climb, every person on the journey with me. Because those are all things that could have been taken away from me if I'd have allowed any of those injuries to steal my joy or my love for the Great Outdoors.
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