bAckPAckinG!

Last week we were up in the mountains, backpacking, enjoying the summer and being together.  This place is pretty heavenly.

We started out by taking a water taxi from Echo Lake and then backpacking up 800 feet to Lake Aloha, a remote alpine lake.  All the kids and dog had their own packs and it was a pretty happy trip up there.  We set up camp near the lake where we could climb the granite boulders and swim in the shallow, clear water. 

What were the best parts of this trip?

Being together.  I know it sounds cheesy but it feels good to leave the world behind and be together.

Throwing our daily routine at home goodbye.  Saying hello to backpacking rhythm.  Waking up, eating breakfast, doing dishes, swimming, climbing rocks, filtering water, eating lunch, doing dishes, cleaning up camp, eating, filtering water, making hot cocoa and tea, swimming, hanging up the bear bags in the trees, going to bed and waking up to do it all again.

I don't really like sleepless nights which happens inevitably but the first night I got up and just took in the night sky which is so much better in the mountains. 

I like living on the wild side.  Hanging up our food in the trees so that the bears can't get to it makes the trip just a bit risky!

Skipping rocks, throwing rocks, climbing rocks and camping on rocks.

Being outside my comfort zone.  I'm not a fan of deep water.  The second day Amelia encouraged me to go "island hopping" with her.  Lake Aloha is shallow and filled with rock islands.  Some parts of the lake are deep though . We swam from rock to rock together and  I'm glad we did it.

I enjoyed carrying that heavy pack.  Going down the mountain on the way back made me realize what an accomplishment this was for our family, physically and mentally.

Amelia made us a lemon cake for dessert the second night.  We all sang happy birthday to Jon's dad, whose birthday would have been on the 22nd.

Watching our dog really enjoy himself.  At times we couldn't find him and we'd look up to see him all the way up the snowbank on the mountain.  He was a tired doggy by the end of the trip.

I loved waking up before the sun to enjoy the views.  Very rarely do we really get up early and enjoy the beauty of a sunrise.