Well, like the title says it was a short weekend. But let me start from the beginning.
Thursday night we packed our bags and got everything set to go Saturday morning. It would be the first trip with full packs. Rosie's pack was 22 lbs while mine was roughly 26 lbs. I had the tent and extra water while Rosie had food and cookware, while we both had our own clothes, jackets, and sleeping bags. I did realize that I will eventually need a new pack as many of the straps on my old pack are slipping and not staying in place.
I didn't let the old pack slow us down as we headed for Cuvier River State Park by Troy, MO early Saturday morning. It took a little over an hour to get to the visitor center. Once at the visitor center we checked in with the ranger to let them know we were there and where we were planning on camping. Once we got to the trail head we determined the route we were going to take with an expected 8 mile distance.
Once on the trails we saw a mix of terrain from sand, gravel, and even large rocks. We were confident at this point that we would make it and hit camp before hitting any rain if it did rain. About 2.5 miles in we hit an equestrian campsite that was next to a spring. We found this to be a good opportunity to grab a snack and make sure our packs were comfortable. After eating it was back onto the trails where we saw some good elevation changes as well as more terrain changes.
Along our hike we also ran into 4 deer that were all good sized as well as seeing a really cool looking lizard (sorry no pictures he was quick). Two of the deer happened to be along the trail that saw some of the thickest brush we had seen in a while with most of it being 3-4 ft tall. Felt like we needed a hatchet to get through it. Once out of the thicket that last about 1.5 miles we did a tick check. Let me tell you that being in the lead left alot of ticks all over my jeans as well as Rosie's pants. It seems even the bug spray didn't faze them. So after working to try and get them all cleaned off we headed back onto the trail.
A little past 5 miles we heard a crack of thunder and looked towards the sky and noticed the clouds were heading away from us so we pressed on. At the finally junction we were looking to see how many miles as well as working to get our rain coats out just in case but it wouldn't be fast enough. While pulling Rosie's jacket from her pack, I looked up and saw a line of rain heading towards us and realized I wasn't going to have enough time. We got her jacket on and started trying to get her pack rain fly on with no success (made a note for later). I then worked to get my jacket on as I was getting soaked. Once we were ready to keep going came the decision to hike the 2.5 miles to camp or the mile back to the car. We decided that since we were soaked already we should just head to the car, and on top of that once we were at camp we would have had to setup in the rain and we weren't ready for that one yet. Once back at the car it was time to go, so we headed to the visitors center to let them know we would not be staying.
As for lessons of the weekend, I need some better hiking pants and shoes. Rosie needs some better hiking shoes and we need to readjust our packs to be able to fit the pack rain fly. Also need to find a way to pack a shelter we can put up quickly just encase this happens again in hopes to stay dry. I also need to learn to slow the pace down.
All in all in the end besides getting wet, seeing wildlife, and being attacked by ticks our 6.7 mile hike in 2 hrs and 27 minutes of moving time was a great experience and we are looking forward to our next trip. We are working to plan that one now and hopefully we can camp overnight on that trip.
Till our next big adventure.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013
First Hike....
So this is a little late but I wanted to tell everyone about our adventure. We went on a nice 5.6 mile hike over at Weldon Springs Park. This was great in that we would go through elevation changes and some different terrains.
The packs were quickly packed and ready to go by lunch and we had a tag along guest in our 12 year old nephew Adam. I'll get to that side of the story a little later. But we loaded up with Rosie having an 18 lbs pack and I having a 23lbs pack to start and then off to lunch at Chipotle. Figured we would load up on some grub and water before hiking.
Once we arrived at Weldon Springs, I realized I had not sealed my hydration pack and thus had a soaked backpack and half the amount of water. So not a good start, however, I had my Brita water bottle with me and took that along. So after getting Rosie set up with her pack and putting mine on; soaked back and all, we headed off to the woods.
We were moving along at a good clip averaging 2.5-3 miles per hour until the first stop about a mile in. Which gave way to a great view of the Missouri River and the bluffs. The current in the river was moving at a great clip, but the view of the hills and tree line was amazing and stretched to the horizon. Back on the trail we started experiencing a roller coaster of elevation changes and a narrowing trail. This lasted almost the rest of the trail till the last mile where it flattened out to the parking lot.
Now for Adam, he was such a trooper for the first 2 miles. Then after a couple up and downs he began to slow. So we began to make stops along the way and he was drinking water like it was going out of style. we kept telling him he needed to conserve it but just almost 4 miles in he was out of water and we had to take some from Rosie and give it to him. It was crazy how much water he drank in the 2.5 hours we were out there. On another side of it, there were a couple hills that were fairly steep. I made it almost to the top before hearing from Rosie to hold up. She was a little over half way, however, Adam was a little over a quarter of the way up. Man you want to talk about someone who should have more energy than us, he's 12. So we waited and they finally caught up before we reached the top. Shortly after that was another steep hill with the same results, except this time, I challenged him before we got to the top. I told him he needed to eat better (aka only go to Captain D's once a month, if that and when he goes to get something from the grilled menu and nothing fried), drink more water and lay off the sodas, and to get out and exercise even if that means riding a bike, shooting hoops or something. So we will see how it goes. He did tell us he had fun and wanted his own backpack, so we will see where this goes.
After hiking we headed over to Cabelas where we purchased our new sleeping bags and an MSR camping stove. Next purchase will be a backpacking tent, as we currently do not have anything that light. So till out next adventure.
Stay tuned.....
The packs were quickly packed and ready to go by lunch and we had a tag along guest in our 12 year old nephew Adam. I'll get to that side of the story a little later. But we loaded up with Rosie having an 18 lbs pack and I having a 23lbs pack to start and then off to lunch at Chipotle. Figured we would load up on some grub and water before hiking.
Once we arrived at Weldon Springs, I realized I had not sealed my hydration pack and thus had a soaked backpack and half the amount of water. So not a good start, however, I had my Brita water bottle with me and took that along. So after getting Rosie set up with her pack and putting mine on; soaked back and all, we headed off to the woods.
We were moving along at a good clip averaging 2.5-3 miles per hour until the first stop about a mile in. Which gave way to a great view of the Missouri River and the bluffs. The current in the river was moving at a great clip, but the view of the hills and tree line was amazing and stretched to the horizon. Back on the trail we started experiencing a roller coaster of elevation changes and a narrowing trail. This lasted almost the rest of the trail till the last mile where it flattened out to the parking lot.
Now for Adam, he was such a trooper for the first 2 miles. Then after a couple up and downs he began to slow. So we began to make stops along the way and he was drinking water like it was going out of style. we kept telling him he needed to conserve it but just almost 4 miles in he was out of water and we had to take some from Rosie and give it to him. It was crazy how much water he drank in the 2.5 hours we were out there. On another side of it, there were a couple hills that were fairly steep. I made it almost to the top before hearing from Rosie to hold up. She was a little over half way, however, Adam was a little over a quarter of the way up. Man you want to talk about someone who should have more energy than us, he's 12. So we waited and they finally caught up before we reached the top. Shortly after that was another steep hill with the same results, except this time, I challenged him before we got to the top. I told him he needed to eat better (aka only go to Captain D's once a month, if that and when he goes to get something from the grilled menu and nothing fried), drink more water and lay off the sodas, and to get out and exercise even if that means riding a bike, shooting hoops or something. So we will see how it goes. He did tell us he had fun and wanted his own backpack, so we will see where this goes.
After hiking we headed over to Cabelas where we purchased our new sleeping bags and an MSR camping stove. Next purchase will be a backpacking tent, as we currently do not have anything that light. So till out next adventure.
Stay tuned.....
Monday, June 3, 2013
Just the beginning!
So the Rosie, my lovely wife of 8 years, and I have decided, that since we love the outdoors and enjoy hiking we would start something together. We are going backpacking! I did some backpacking when I was scouts a while back and the wife has not. So, this will be a learning adventure for her and rebirth for me.
We have been discussing and looking at gear, places to hike, as well as a future anniversary trip to Montana (more on that later). So it has been fun just looking at everything. I pulled out my old pack from the attic to make sure it was still good. It will be interesting to see if it can get me through this year. With backpacks still in mind we head over to REI in St. Louis to get her a backpack. We tried finding something on sale but after carefully trying on a couple packs we found one. As for trying them on, we had some really good help from a staff member at REI that already hiked the Appalachian Trail, or AT, for 6 months from start to finish. He was very helpful and agreed with some of my recommendations based on fit. For one we started with a ladies pack and found that the shoulder straps were too narrow for the wife's shoulders, so I recommended a guy's bag instead. With a quick recommendation on a pack from the staff, we added some weight and made the appropriate adjustments and had her walk the store including the stairs. When she came back she was surprised how comfortable and how she could hardly tell there was twenty pounds on her back. Now she is ready.
We have been looking at tents and sleeping bags to help keep weight down. There are so many options that my mind is going crazy trying to absorb it all. But, we found a couple I will be researching to determine quality, pack ability, as well as how long will they last with proper care. Along with that, I have been looking at camping stoves, so we can boil water if need be or use it for what ever purpose we may have.
Along with this we are going to pack Rosie's bag and mine with what we would take on a normal backpacking trip and do some small day hikes for the next couple weeks with an overnight trip in July. And continue from there till we work up to our anniversary trip next year. That trip will be fun as we are looking to do a 10 day round trip. First driving too Glacier National Park in Montana from Illinois, then backpacking the park for 5 days and 4 nights. From there it will be visit with family and friends for a day or two, then drive back home. I am looking forward to it but it will be a lot of work leading up to it.
So stay tuned as I detail our Adventures In Backpacking!
Danno
We have been discussing and looking at gear, places to hike, as well as a future anniversary trip to Montana (more on that later). So it has been fun just looking at everything. I pulled out my old pack from the attic to make sure it was still good. It will be interesting to see if it can get me through this year. With backpacks still in mind we head over to REI in St. Louis to get her a backpack. We tried finding something on sale but after carefully trying on a couple packs we found one. As for trying them on, we had some really good help from a staff member at REI that already hiked the Appalachian Trail, or AT, for 6 months from start to finish. He was very helpful and agreed with some of my recommendations based on fit. For one we started with a ladies pack and found that the shoulder straps were too narrow for the wife's shoulders, so I recommended a guy's bag instead. With a quick recommendation on a pack from the staff, we added some weight and made the appropriate adjustments and had her walk the store including the stairs. When she came back she was surprised how comfortable and how she could hardly tell there was twenty pounds on her back. Now she is ready.
We have been looking at tents and sleeping bags to help keep weight down. There are so many options that my mind is going crazy trying to absorb it all. But, we found a couple I will be researching to determine quality, pack ability, as well as how long will they last with proper care. Along with that, I have been looking at camping stoves, so we can boil water if need be or use it for what ever purpose we may have.
Along with this we are going to pack Rosie's bag and mine with what we would take on a normal backpacking trip and do some small day hikes for the next couple weeks with an overnight trip in July. And continue from there till we work up to our anniversary trip next year. That trip will be fun as we are looking to do a 10 day round trip. First driving too Glacier National Park in Montana from Illinois, then backpacking the park for 5 days and 4 nights. From there it will be visit with family and friends for a day or two, then drive back home. I am looking forward to it but it will be a lot of work leading up to it.
So stay tuned as I detail our Adventures In Backpacking!
Danno
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