Thursday, July 27, 2006

Backpacking This Weekend

Ansel Adams Wilderness

Click through to the Flickr page to see the annotations to the photo.

The last time I went backpacking was in third or fourth grade. My dad and I hiked (twice, including the packless trial run) from the base to the summit of Mount Diablo one summer. It was fun, though very tiring.

I'm finally getting a second shot at backpacking -- this time a more "real" experience. I'm going to the Ansel Adams Wilderness with Forrest, his dad, and his brother. While they're going for a full week (or longer, in the case of his dad), I'm only taking off Monday and Tuesday from work. That's still four days, which I figure isn't bad for basically a rank beginner.

Because I don't have my own gear, I've been cobbling together a set of equipment from my parents and from Forrest's family. I have either my dad's or Forrest's mom's pack, my mom's sleeping bag, and Forrest's Nalgene. I only bought boots recently, but I wore then up at Tahoe during my extended family's annual camping trip, so I think the boots should be broken in enough. I've still got some random gear on my list that I have to buy...

Forrest and I are leaving Friday night. We'll camp overnight at Clover Meadow, the nearest drive-up-able campgrounds to the trailhead. After that, you won't be hearing from me (except in the very unlikely event that I get cell reception) until Wednesday.

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