When I was a child living outside a small rural town, it was easy to wander creeks, hidden lakes and hills. As I grew older, backpacking sounded like fun. Gather some necessities (like food and water) and a light sleeping bag, and stuff it all in a backpack, strap it on and off you go. Adventure awaits! Not that I ever did it. Imagination is a wonderful thing, and I imagined myself strolling along the Pacific Coast Trail, pitching a tent at dusk, eating a meal cooked over a campfire, seeing the Milky Way and constellations. Oh, what fun! Someday…
In our financially pinched early years of marriage, Rick and I agreed backpacking would be a great, inexpensive pastime. There are many places to explore in California, some of which he had already seen when spending summers at his family’s cabin in Pinecrest.
We bought backpacks, filled them with the necessities, stowed our gear in the trunk of our little white Comet, and drove from the Bay Area (sea level) up and into the Sierra-Nevada Mountains. We parked at Tuolumne Meadows (8600 feet elevation), hefted our backpacks and started the trek to Cathedral Lake (9600 feet elevation). We figured it would take us a few hours and we’d set up camp, catch some fish, zip our sleeping bags together, cuddle up and watch the shooting stars. Oh, how romantic!
I made it less than half a mile up the mountain. I think that’s a generous estimate. I lost my cookies, as they say, and we ended up camping by a creek near the parking lot where I suffered a massive headache for the next two days. Altitude sickness. Rick was fine, but then he’d recently finished his time in the Marine Corps. His training had included running the trails of Camp Pendleton with a fifty-pound pack on his back. He probably thanked God he didn’t have to fireman carry his wife and her backpack down the incline. At least I was in good enough shape to stumble down the hill and sprawl on a flat boulder in the sunshine. I might have gotten a tan – something to show for my efforts from our outdoor adventure.
We never made it to Cathedral Lake. We kept the backpacks for a while and eventually passed them along to hardier folk than we (me). I still dreamed about hiking the Appalachian Trail. I got that out of my system by writing The Last Sin Eater. (I see nothing wrong in living vicariously through imaginary characters. Nothing strenuous either.)
Lessons Learned:
Do your research before you set off on a new adventure.
Get and stay in shape for the journey.
Pack light!
Extend grace to yourself. We all have our limitations.