Anniversary Backpacking

This past Sunday was the one-year anniversary of an amazing marriage with my amazing man. It was also the beginning of Fall Break, which meant freedom to do something cool. My Dad had been trying to work out a time for Chris and I to go backpacking with him, so we thought "Why not?" We drove to Asheville Friday evening, and left early Saturday morning to begin our trip.

The fall colors were absolutely gorgeous, and the weather could not have been better! We went to mountain tops, saw waterfalls, walked through pine forests, and slept under the moon and stars.









Now, you have to understand, my Dad is a huge outdoorsman, who at 60 years old could totally whoop up on both Chris and I. When you go backpacking with him, you are not simply going for stroll. You are hiking - and fairly fast at that. Unfortunately, Chris and I are not quite as in-shape as we used to be, so the strenuous hiking with heavy packs took quite a toll. But we gritted our teeth and pressed on - much of my motivation being that I was burning tons and tons and tons of calories. :)



For our graduation, my Dad is flying Chris and I out to Wyoming in June to spend over a week hiking to the top of Gannet Peak - the highest point in Wyoming. It is 22 miles to the base camp, and then 1.5 miles to the very top, which will be done with ice axes and crampons (those spikes you attach to your boots). Extreme, yes. Chris and I needing to get in shape, definitely.

My Dad took this past weekend's trip to show us what the first 2 days of backpacking in June will be like. Day 1: 10 miles. Day 2: 6 miles. Lots of mountains and lots of hiking. Needless to say, Chris and I spent all of Monday laying at home and doing absolutely nothing. :) We hope to be doing some more backpacking this fall/winter/spring in preparation for our trip. If anyone wants to join in the fun, let me know! Oh, and don't worry - we're not exactly planning on doing 16 miles every trip.