I spent the last three nights outside. That feels so right.
I’m going to write up my trip this week. I took a lot of videos and pictures, and I wrote a lot of notes. Especially on Friday when it rained most of the day and I was cooped up in my tent.
I commended some of Ambrose’s ashes to our lakes. Two small, unnamed lakes below the Needles Summit outside of Donnelly. They had no names on any map we could find, so we just called them our lakes. They were our first backpacking challenge. The first trip was to Skillern Hot Springs, which is a short and easy hike. The trail to our lakes was much harder, and at a higher elevation. We didn’t succeed the first time, or the second, even though the distance from trailhead to the lakes is less than 7 miles.
I had a migraine start yesterday afternoon, which continued all the way through the drive home until I took the medication. Well, until about an hour and a half after I took the medication. Note to self: take at least one migraine pill along when backpacking, especially when backpacking near the period. I’ve noticed that I tend to get a migraine either right at the start of my period or several days in. This was a mid-cycle one that took me by surprise.
My body is running hot from being in the elements. It’s kind of nice to be warm instead of cold. I was cold before falling asleep those nights outside. Then I’d wake up warm and toasty and need to take my socks off.
I was hoping for a milkshake on the drive home, but I didn’t want to drive through McCall, so I ended up going to the Albertsons instead and got some yogurt drinks. Healthier, anyway. I just needed fuel to get home.
I don’t know that I’ll put my water heater on vacation mode when I go backpacking again. It takes too long to have water ready for a shower. Maybe I’ll put it on energy saver. I wish the app worked, but I’d rather do full manual than have the app constantly putting it back on vacation mode while I’m home.
I got pizza for dinner tonight. And a milkshake, which I didn’t finish. It’s in the freezer turning back into ice cream for tomorrow.
I’m proud of myself for taking this trip, and handling everything that it threw at me. It didn’t go exactly as planned, but I made it work. I used the knowledge and skills that Ambrose gave me to make this a good trip. I’m letting my pack sit in the car overnight so that the bugs all crawl out or die before I bring the pack inside. I’ll need to clean the tent tomorrow. Get laundry started. Write the trip up. My videos are still uploading. I should finish the videos from our last trip together, but I’m not sure I’m ready.
Fire changed a lot of the landscape in the area I hiked, but there was still a lot that I recognized. A lot of things to reminisce about. I wish we could have taken the trip together.
