this weekend, cody and i set out for a nice backpacking adventure.
After we had gone a few miles, we stopped for a snack. I ate a pear and a primal stirp treat. which is some new meatless jerky at the co-op that is actually very delicious.
then i saw this butterfly sitting next to me, so i took a picture of it.
it was like a butterfly mating ground. butterflies were everywhere. I almost died of heartbreak when i saw annabelle, the sweet baby girl dog, trying to eat them.
ill be honest, i was struggling for the majority of this hike. up the mountain. my backpack was not making me smile. and that is unusual considering my bag is like the best womans bag! and i have used it for 3 years without a single hurt shoulder.
then cody called someone on his 1970's blackberry. (actually this is a really hip gps, but i call it zack morris's blackberry.)
and we keep going.
but this isnt a story about any of those things. this is a story about getting to our campsite.
I was so happy to arrive. i had big plans to cannon ball into the cold river and soothe my sore back and feet. (yeah, to top it off, i wore my newest boots. no good.) my dreams were shattered when i saw that someone else had set up camp at the very campsite that we had come 5 miles for. i entertained all possible ideas, first of course being that they might me some sort of deliverance followers and they had plans to kill us in the middle of the night and second that they could actually become our new best friends. as there was only one tent, we assumed that it was a couple. i mean, it could have been 2 guys, but highly doubtful considering most men wouldnt sleep 2 people in a practically 1 person tent.
the next few minutes were possible scenarios. since the people occupying this area were no where to be found, i took survey of all of their gear and made a pro/con list as to whether or not we should feel good about setting up our camp right next to these strangers.
PRO
has wine
nice tent
nice cooking equipment
CONS
cant see brand of backpack. (would have given away the gender status of the two inhabitants.)
very little room left for our tent. (although with that small of a tent, they are obviously not invested in the notion of personal space.)
possibly two guys. scary. i trust no one in the wilderness. its every man for himself out there.
and then, just like that cody makes an executive decision that we are hiking 2 miles back to the last campsite. it is the next closest campsite. (info courtesy of the blackberry de morris) and my pro/ con list was null and void, just like that. there wouldnt even be a reason to argue considering i hadnt even formed an opinion based on my pro/con list.
so we started trudging back down the mountain. the whole positive attitude behavior that i had adopted last week pretty was progressing into full blown silent treatment/i hate this mountain and everything on it/worst attitude this side of a 14 year old female who has been told by her parents that buying a name brand clothing item is a waste of money. yes, i felt as if my life was being ruined.
finally we arrived back at the campground. and it was a really nice campground for ample swimming. which i did immediately and i only obsessed briefly about the dirty mountain man who was probably watching me from the top of the mountain.
the knitting needles and the wine came out.
i relaxed beside the water.
we took a hundred pictures of our dogs sleeping in different formations.
and we ate a delicious dinner.
it was over dinner that i had to mention what i couldnt get off my mind. "what if those people at our campsite were destined to be our friends. our like, really good friends?" and then cody tells me:
"they had a can of beanie weanies in their tent, i am pretty sure we arent destined to be bff's."
and he waited this long to tell me? that was a deal breaker.
who eats beanie weanies with fresh caught trout and wine?
and all that time i had wasted all of that worry and anxiety about missing our friend moment. Like that att commercial. where the guy is getting sworn in as president and it back tracks through childhood, pregnancy, marriage and ends with the guy (dad of mr president) who sees the girl on the train and changes his ticket. watch it here.
oh, in case you were wondering, all was right in the end. cards were played, sleep was had, pancakes were enjoyed in the am, and another quick swim in the river and we were outta there.
avett was happy his bag was lighter for the trip out.
i was happy we spent our weekend with this:
and we both were happy that we will use our blackberry morris again soon.
(upclose shot at the blackberry morris. it gives a new meaning to bbm. )
(i secretly love that gps.. it has the weather on it. which i love. but i try not to act to crazy about it, cause i like to call it the blackberry morris.)
