Colorado trail day 1 - 12.2 miles The first day of any backpacking trip is always hard. I’m al

Colorado trail day 1 - 12.2 miles The first day of any backpacking trip is always hard. I’m always reminded that it’s not just a walk, it’s long miles, achey feet, and a slow and consistent hunger that never really goes away. But even in that, with backpacking there’s a sense of self that’s called forward. The nagging pains and time seemingly passing by slower than normal causes this awareness of your whole body and its surroundings. Today it rained for most of the day. We hiked through a cool foggy mist that was really beautiful. Listening to the rain drops hit the leaves was peaceful. The fog made it all feel pretty magical, and it sort of didn’t feel like Colorado anymore. It reminded me a lot of hiking in BC. I love backpacking because of its simplicity. Yes you can get technical with your gear, you can make it into a game with comparing weights, you can hike fast and crush miles. But overall, no matter the gear you have or the weight of your pack, it’s all the same—it’s just walking. It’s the simplest act and it’s so natural to do, and pretty much anyone can do it. Beyond setting up your camp & cooking, most of the day is spent just walking. I worked up until the last hour before we left for the trail. I hit send on an email right before walking out the door. We went from packing and sorting everything and getting work in a place that we could leave it for the next month to the quiet, slow life of hiking. The contrast was surprising to me. After the first half hour of hiking, the excitement settled into a feeling of “okay we’re really doing this”. It’s so nice to be away from the daily habits of constantly checking our phones & social media & emails for a bit. After 12 miles, we camped in a rock outcropping with a few other hikers. One was named Talus and he was hiking with his dog, Pablo. It’s kind of fun to be on a multi-use trail like this with dogs and bikes. After snuggling Pablo for a bit, I did our camp chores and Nate hung our first ever bear bag. We retreated to the tent where we fell asleep to the sound of the rain hitting the tent. -- source link

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