I had a great time on this sweet little overnighter. We hiked this little section out and back, doing almost 5 miles the first day, looking for hang sites on the way out. We ended up hanging at almost the first site we liked, below an old beaver dam in a little hemlock grove. Fell asleep to the sounds of the creek and falls below the dam.
Jolly Green, G Hawk, and BobO(Scout78) are all more experienced than I, and I learned things from each one of them, especially Bob. He had great stories from years of hiking and mentoring scouts, and gave me many quiet tips along the trail and in camp. A treasure of a hiker who I spent a mere 24 hours with, and will remember for the rest of my life.
G hawk tutored me on my hiking poles and watched me get more comfortable with them and now finally I can I say I view them as indispensible tools and not hindrances. My knees now really love them on downhills. More points of contact, yayy!
Jolly Green was our hero on the way out, hiking fast the last mile+ out in the am and coming back for BobOs 25 lbs of pack. He and Bob finished out together, male bonding while G Hawk and I chatted at the rear.
I felt good about my pack weight of 16 lbs with consumables (about 2 lbs of food and 72 oz. of water), and when I got home I shaved 8 oz. out of my ditty bag and bits based on what I had not been using the last 2 hikes. But then I ordered 2 hip belt pockets (.7oz each)from Gossamer and a set of tarp skins from WL (1.2 oz) to replace My shredded DIY scrubbie snakeskins.
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