This is it. Tomorrow is the day I’ve been waiting for all summer. Tomorrow morning at 8:00.
For the next six days, my classmates and I will be backpacking through some of the most beautiful country in the United States. Each of us will be carrying around 60 pounds of clothing, food, and gear on our backs for nearly 30 miles.
Our trek takes us through the Ansel Adams wilderness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansel_Adams_Wilderness) and Yosemite National Park(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosemite_National_Park). We’ll travel around 5 miles each day, waking up with the sun, eating when we’re hungry, and sitting by a campfire at night, sharing stories with one another about our lives. Each student, at the beginning of the semester, was issued the essential gear for backpacking (a pack, a sleeping bag, a sleeping pad, and a bivy sack). As my job at High Sierra is to be in charge of the “gear shed”, I’ve become quite familiar with all the equipment that resides in our packs as we hike through the backcountry. The job has most definitely served in making me increasingly excited for our trek.
Over the summer, I was so excited about this very trip that I traveled to my local REI several times, each visit returning with a new piece of gear. Each individual purchase took me closer to my destination: the wilderness. This trip that we’re leaving on tomorrow will, in fact, be my very first time backpacking. I’ve recently, over the last few years, become infatuated with the outdoors.
By the outdoors, I don’t mean simply being outside. I mean being in nature, in God’s beautiful creation – The National Parks, the forests, the canyons, the rivers – the places that make this country unique. Coming from Illinois, we don’t get much of that. So when I came to APU for school, I jumped on the opportunity to get outdoors and enjoy the mountains behind school. As I’ve become familiar with Southern California, I’ve found that there is an endless supply of outdoor activities, hiking and cycling being my favorites. There are some great trails and rides in the Azusa area!
Since going to school at APU, my appetite for the outdoors has been increasing, and tomorrow is the culmination of a growing hunger for the backcountry. Tomorrow my feast begins.
As I said, I’ll be gone for the next six days, so there won’t be any new posts from me until I return. But you can trust that when I get back, I’ll have a lot to tell you! And some pictures to show you too. So until then – get outside!
