Knit 1, Crochet 2

Adventures

Several years ago, Brian and I started getting interested in backpacking. New for me, not so new for him. He'd done it before, but it had been years and his backpack was in sorry shape and very heavy. Over the years I'd checked out every book on backpacking and read each new Backpacker magazine and dreamed. But backpacking equipment isn't cheap and we couldn't really afford it.

Until now.

With anal retentive list making and obsessing careful planning and making the most of some great sales, we finally had all our equipment! Right before and during the annual REI sale, we had gone there so many times the fabulous employees not only recognized us and knew our names, but we had a streak going on how many days in a row we had stopped by. Yea, we are freaks.

So finally...after years of dreaming, we were ready. As luck would have it, Brian's parents needed us to help them drive out to Silver City, NM for the summer and our first trip was in the works.

First, we went to the Gila Cliff Dwellings in the Gila Wilderness. Amazing! The largest I'd ever seen.



Then, it was time to slip on the packs and head out. We planned to hike in 2 miles and find a place to stay the night. Let me tell you, it takes some getting used to having 30+ pounds on your back and hiking! I'm glad we only hiked 2 miles. Kind of sucks that I've been able to hike 7 miles recently, but we will get there.



Neither of us took too many pictures, but this has to be the best hotel I've ever slept in. The Gila River was cold and perfect for a quick dip after a hot hike. And the filtered water was the best I'd ever drank. Waking in the middle of the night to see the moon and stars while snuggled in my sleeping bag really made it all worthwhile.

The bear tracks we found not far from our camp the next morning? Just a little scary.

Posted by Heather at 7:51 AM