First Tent Camping in Rockies Part 1

I am going to make this post while I still have most of the weekend fresh in my mind.  My mind is foggy now due to sleep deprivation exercises I practiced all weekend long.  You know you are having a great time when you don't even want sleep to interrupt it.  Even if you want to go to sleep the excitement is coursing through your veins like adrenaline preventing sleep from happening.  That's how good this weekend was.

A small group of us ventured up into the Rockies for a little camping getaway.  I rode up with Tom and Sam.  I brought along Nala and a friend, Rebekkah (aka Bekky, Bekka, lifesaver) watched Miss P.  The drive was a little over an hour and the holiday traffic was virtually non existent.   We found the camp site that Amanda, Alyssa and Ian had staked out for us the day before to make sure that we would have one for the busy holiday weekend.   It was primitive camping at its best.  A large parcel of forested land a few dozen feet from a stream.  The stream was either an anorexic river or a bloated creek.  It had a strong flow and several small falls that made falling asleep a little easier.  The water was about one degree over freezing.  You could not leave your foot in it for more than 30 seconds due to the extreme coldness.
We had at one time 5 different tents set up, ranging in size from 5 person down to one man.  The central gathering spot was around the fire pit.  All eating and most socializing in camp was done around the fire pit, whether there was a fire burning or not.
The first night a group of us hiked back down to the parking area and set our sleeping bags in the flower petal position.  This allowed for conversations to be heard by all while viewing the stars.   Here is from the 12 o'clock postition...Sam, Amanda, Alyssa, Moi, Leanne and Tom.

I was trapped between Leanne and Alyssa.  Who ended up being bad influences and keeping me in the parking lot until the sun came up with their in-depth conversation skills.

The next day, after only about 4 hrs of restless, sun filled sleep, everybody is chomping at the bit to go hiking.  I temporarily lost my camera and everyone was gracious enough to give me about a half hour to search for it.  They understood the importance of the camera to me and had already gotten use to me pointing it at them frequently.

 It was a moderately active hike, mainly because it was one continuous incline.  Then at the timberline, where the alpine zone started, the lack of oxygen became very noticeable.  It was amazing.  We went from doing strenuous hiking at a decent pace to short 50 ft walks at an even slower pace.  The trade off was that the view improved drastically with every step into alpine country.

Alyssa adding bandannas as sleeves to protect herself from the sun.

 I was surprised at the amount of snow up here.

 Part of the group...Karen, Daniel, Tom, Sam, Alyssa, Amanda and Nala

 Sam and I swap out.

 Nala really impressed me with her endurance.  But she has paid for it since.  Three days later she is walking around gingerly.  Notice she uses every chance we stop to lay down.  I felt the same way.

 I've got the whole world in my hands...

Here is some video to demonstrate the best way to spit.  Proud times...



More to come later...