Soooo...we watched
The Sound of Music this week...hence the post title (imagine it being sung to the music). Still as fabulous as ever. But the title is also relevant because we climbed a mountain this weekend too! Since it was labor day weekend and we got Monday off as well, Ryan took me on my very first backpacking trip! It was also helpful that REI was having a sale so I could actually get all the appropriate gear for this sort of trip. Now I am fully stocked up and ready to go on many more trips! This weekend was a good starter trip though. We drove up to Oak Harbor Friday night since it was a little closer to our destination in the North Cascades. Saturday morning we finished getting food and such for the trip, got all packed up and headed east into the mountains. We got to the trail head at about 4pm and hiked into the woods a couple of miles to our first campsite. There ended up being a few other backpackers that got there later in the night, but we hardly saw them at all since it was so spread out and wooded. That was also a good thing since I was definitely hugging a tree to relieve myself, so luckily I didn't have any spectators! After a little supper and securing our food from the bears, we bundled up into our little tent to keep warm and played a few games with my awesome Care Bears playing cards. They just make me smile :) It was a little tough sleeping, but we managed. At some point in the wee hours of the morning, it started to rain a little, so we had to close up our little tent flap and wait it out for a little while. It was never really hard rain, but we waited for it to stop so we could make some breakfast and get ready for our next hike. Apparently I wasn't very good at securing my food because I forgot a pack of pitas that was in my front pocket of my pack. Some little mice had a hearty little dinner and chewed up a little bit of the mesh pocket on my brand new pack! At least it wasn't a bear, and I've learned my lesson to double check for any food left in my pack!
The plan for the second day was to hike to the top of Stiletto Peak and go along the ridge for a while to get to Stiletto Lake, so that's what we started doing. We hiked up the steep mountain through the woods for a couple hours, taking several breaks to catch our breath and refuel. It felt like it would take forever to get to the top! After a while we got out of the woods into a more grassy area above the tree line. Then we finally made it to the rocky area which lead us to the peak of the mountain! It was really kind of scary at the top since it was a huge drop off on every side! There was a little stone fort with a metal post to indicate the top of the mountain. It felt like a pretty big accomplishment to make it to the top! The view was amazing, although much of it was covered with clouds. At this point it had gotten cold enough to be snowing and the wind was starting to pick up. The plan had been to hike for a while longer along the ridge to the lake, but we got a little nervous about getting back if the snow kept up and covered up our trail! It was also literally freezing at that point, so we decided our best bet was to head back down the mountain where it was a little warmer and a more visible trail. The trip down was
MUCH faster and easier! We made it down so fast that we figured we could even make it out of the woods and back to the car before it got completely dark. Since it was pretty wet and rainy and there weren't really any good places to set up a tent, we figured that was our best bet at that point, so we booked it back to the car. We were both soaked and frozen when we got there, so it felt good to get out of wet clothes and pump up the heat! We still had about a 4 hour drive to get back to Seattle, so the day wasn't over quite yet.
Once we finally got back, we made a huge mess laying out all the gear to dry and clean off. Luckily we still had Monday off, which ended up being a good thing so we had time to relax and clean up after the weekend. It was a really great first backpacking trip for me though, even if it was cold and rainy. I got to climb a mountain! I know there are a ton of other awesome trails to explore around here too, so I'm excited that I am well equipped now, and can't wait to try it all out again!!
Soooo...we watched The Sound of Music this week...hence the post title (imagine it being sung to the music). Still as fabulous as ever. But the title is also relevant because we climbed a mountain this weekend too! Since it was labor day weekend and we got Monday off as well, Ryan took me on my very first backpacking trip! It was also helpful that REI was having a sale so I could actually get all the appropriate gear for this sort of trip. Now I am fully stocked up and ready to go on many more trips! This weekend was a good starter trip though. We drove up to Oak Harbor Friday night since it was a little closer to our destination in the North Cascades. Saturday morning we finished getting food and such for the trip, got all packed up and headed east into the mountains. We got to the trail head at about 4pm and hiked into the woods a couple of miles to our first campsite. There ended up being a few other backpackers that got there later in the night, but we hardly saw them at all since it was so spread out and wooded. That was also a good thing since I was definitely hugging a tree to relieve myself, so luckily I didn't have any spectators! After a little supper and securing our food from the bears, we bundled up into our little tent to keep warm and played a few games with my awesome Care Bears playing cards. They just make me smile :) It was a little tough sleeping, but we managed. At some point in the wee hours of the morning, it started to rain a little, so we had to close up our little tent flap and wait it out for a little while. It was never really hard rain, but we waited for it to stop so we could make some breakfast and get ready for our next hike. Apparently I wasn't very good at securing my food because I forgot a pack of pitas that was in my front pocket of my pack. Some little mice had a hearty little dinner and chewed up a little bit of the mesh pocket on my brand new pack! At least it wasn't a bear, and I've learned my lesson to double check for any food left in my pack! 
The plan for the second day was to hike to the top of Stiletto Peak and go along the ridge for a while to get to Stiletto Lake, so that's what we started doing. We hiked up the steep mountain through the woods for a couple hours, taking several breaks to catch our breath and refuel. It felt like it would take forever to get to the top! After a while we got out of the woods into a more grassy area above the tree line. Then we finally made it to the rocky area which lead us to the peak of the mountain! It was really kind of scary at the top since it was a huge drop off on every side! There was a little stone fort with a metal post to indicate the top of the mountain. It felt like a pretty big accomplishment to make it to the top! The view was amazing, although much of it was covered with clouds. At this point it had gotten cold enough to be snowing and the wind was starting to pick up. The plan had been to hike for a while longer along the ridge to the lake, but we got a little nervous about getting back if the snow kept up and covered up our trail! It was also literally freezing at that point, so we decided our best bet was to head back down the mountain where it was a little warmer and a more visible trail. The trip down was MUCH faster and easier! We made it down so fast that we figured we could even make it out of the woods and back to the car before it got completely dark. Since it was pretty wet and rainy and there weren't really any good places to set up a tent, we figured that was our best bet at that point, so we booked it back to the car. We were both soaked and frozen when we got there, so it felt good to get out of wet clothes and pump up the heat! We still had about a 4 hour drive to get back to Seattle, so the day wasn't over quite yet.
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