My First Real Backpacking Hike

Got back last night from an overnight hike down into the gorge with the camp. This was my first real "backpacking" experience. I had all my gear strapped or stuffed in an external frame pack. Not sure how much it weighed...maybe 50 pounds?

Not sure I'd really call it fun...it was pretty hot and uncomfortable. If you know me well, you know that I get grumpy when I'm uncomfortable. Sleeping on the ground is just not for me, at least not with my present stock of equipment. I had a sleeping pad, a sleeping bag, and a smallish fleece blanket. It wasn't quite enough to make a comfortable ground bed. I think there are three sleeping factors: head comfort, body comfort, and warmth. I could only get two of the three with that equipment. I really need a sleeping bag designed for fat people, like a 2x or 3x sleeping bag. That'd go a long way to fixing the problem.

And I need a chair. A chair is important for my physical comfort. I can't really sit on the ground for very long, and rocks, you know...they're rocks. Not designed to be comfortable chairs.

And water...also helpful. We had to drink river water treated with iodine, which isn't that bad, but isn't that good either.

Also, there were some foot blister issues. So, hurt feet, no place to sit, gross water, and lack of sleep. Yay nature!

But, there was substantial fun involved too. We spent a lot of time swimming in the Rio Grande, and we did some "floats" where we donned life jackets and floated down a couple of mini-rapids. It was fun.

The hike up was hard. But one of the campers became my hiking buddy. He had a couple good comments. He's a little latino kid, very cute. "No offense, but I like hiking with you cause you go slow." And then later, "Joe, you're, like, the awesomest guy in the world. Cause, like, no offense or nothing, but you're, like, a lot fatter than me, but you can still hike faster than me." I thanked him for his kind words.

Anyway, we made it up there in not so slow a time. I pretty much collapsed from exhaustion at the end, but I was alive. And there were some stellar views.