BACKPACKING? Willingly hiking into the woods with all of everything you need for a week on your BACK? No shower, no comfy bed… WHY???
I got this response quite often when I told people I was headed into backcountry for a week in Wyoming, especially from my family.
“You’re crazy, you’re gonna die…. Whatever, man, I would never, but you have fun…”
– friendly brotherly advice
Well, the answer’s simple, at least to me…
ARE YOU CRAZY? WHY?
CONNECTION to NATURE and YOURSELF – I have never felt so in tune with the earth, the elements, or my own mind, than after 6 days of hiking intentionally up and down mountains, away from all semblances of civilization. At one point, my phone and camera batteries’ were about to die (used only for photos anyways) and I just… put them away. I wanted to record the experience, but I also wanted to BE in the experience, fully feel those bug bites, my painful broken toes as I went down, the nightly thunderstorms that threatened to blow my tent over.
THE VIEWS – Looooooordddddd oh my, I guarantee you’ll never see anything like Wyoming backcountry unless you hike 26 miles out in it – there’s literally no other way to see it. The vast expanse of untouched Earth, marveling at creation, pondering the dinosaurs that you can clearly imagine were here.. It’s unreal, I tell you. Seriously, unreal.
THE CHALLENGE – I will be infinitely honest with you. There was a few days when we climbed a few summits (Texas Pass and Jackass Pass in particular), and the choking elevation combined with the weight of my backpack and my own exhaustion and lack of calories and painful broken toes- that I questioned myself too. “Damn, why am I doing this again? This is HARD.” Yet, after we climbed down and my broken toes are aching, you should have seen our smiles. YES, it was hard, HELL YEAH, it was hard. But isn’t everything that’s really worth it, hard? Don’t you get the most satisfaction when you are a little unsure if you really can do it? And then you’re standing in a freezing lake, feeling your big toes go a little numb, while you laugh and laugh, with a circle of mountains (Cirque de Tower) looming in the distance.
Now, I am not saying backpacking is for everyone. But, for the adventurers who crave a little more spice, the photographers who seek to cover unseen, untouched, beautiful places, the humans who want to connect more deeply with themselves and our incredible Earth… I say, send it.
Check out the FULL video of our 6 – day trek through the Bridger Wilderness in Wyoming, HERE on Youtube.
And check out my mini yoga video, photos, and life glimpses on my INSTA here and my PHOTOGRAPHY here. I love you all, let’s share our adventures!
