The temperature was moderate and the sky mostly clear. There was a possibility of rain, but we were prepared for that. I have never gone backpacking with an overnight stay before. I have done a fair share of āhikingā but it was mostly day walks, not too far from civilization, and always ending within a few hours. A quick exploratory walk usually along a very well traveled path in parks. This, this was going to be something new and exciting for me. Being new and inexperienced, my friend who is a seasoned backpacker, decided to take me out on a simpler trail , something with very little inclines / declines. A trail that had easy access to vehicle cross roads yet was mostly farmland, far away from homes and people. A trail that went mostly straight and to just focus on the experience of being out all day, stopping at a camp site for an overnight, and then a hike back to our car. A way to break in the new gear I have, and really experience what its like to do an overnight in the real sense. I didnāt know how real it was going to be. Having the pack on, my walking poles in hand, we started out and it seemed like everything was going great. The strain of walking with the extra weight and working up a sweat with the exercise was invigorating. I was having an amazing time. Then little by little things started turing sideways. After 8 miles in it really hit home how out of shape I was, and what a realistically difficult task I was undertaking. My shoulders were starting to take a lot of strain despite the pack being properly weighted and positioned. And my heels. I could feel blisters beginning to form. We had been going for a few hours now, and it was at this point it began to rain. Not a light drizzle, but a nice steady downpour. A few more miles in and Ā I now realized that I was not going to make the targeted 20miles to the camp site my friend had planned on. We changed plans , reevaluated the map and decided to stop at the camp site at mile 14, only 2 more miles for me to go. The only problem was, the camp sites had been abandoned some time back and there was no way to find them, and even if we did every single foot off the trail was covered in poison ivy. I tried to continue on as far as I could hoping for a site to appear where it was supposed to be, but it was getting vey dark and it was still raining. It had been raining for hours. We decided to give up and start heading back to the trail head all the while looking for somewhere to camp off trail. We needed to stop. But at least now we would be shaving distance off the return trip in the morning. Ā In the dark and the rain, pushing myself though the blisters, I twisted my knee. Not so much where I would need to be rescued but it slowed my pace to less than a mile and hour. Thank god for trekking poles. Ā Finally after going 17miles throughout the day, some 5 miles well past where I ācould go no furtherā my friend spotted a possible location. It was now 930pm, completely dark, and the rain was just starting to let up. I attempted to help clear a location for the tent, and collect what firewood I could. We needed a fire. Despite all the drenched wood, leaves, and brush, he was able to get a fire going. It felt so nice, the rain had let up and we were able to get dried out by the fire and get some food made. A nice hot meal and a good night sleep was all I wanted at this point. We finished up, got inside the tent just in time for another storm system to pass through. It rained all night long. Severe thunderstorms. All night. Thankfully the tent held and by 8am the storms had subsided. We packed up camp, grabbed some breakfast and headed back up to the trail. I was about to test out my twisted knee and my blistered feet on a 14 mile hike back to the car. That lasted about 2 miles before my knee could take no more. We worked our way off trail until we came to a cross roads and were able to find it on a map. It was there that my friend gave me the rest of his water before heading off alone to go get the car. I stayed there alone for the next 4hours while he power hiked as fast as he could back to the trailhead. He made it to the car exhausted, but safe. He got in the car and made his way back to the cross roads we walked out to , where I had been waiting. It was so relieving to finally get in the car and know I was heading home. It was an amazing experience, and I cant wait to get out and try again. Perhaps this time with a little more knowledge and experience in hand it will be even better.
