Ah. To be back inside of outside. Nancy and I just got back from a week of backpacking the Black Hills of Wyoming. It was beautiful. Tall green pines, vibrant yellow and orange aspens quaking in the breeze, transparent blue skies, purple and white wildflowers blossoming underfoot.
Of course campfires, watching shooting stars at night, enjoying the chattering squirrels and muted nuthatches, and enduring the pain of carrying 50+ pounds on your back everyday were all great parts of our trip, but I had two favourite moments. The first was sitting by a stream in the morning filtering water to drink--listening to the babbling brook and enjoying the peacefulness of being in that moment with nothing else to think or worry about. The second was lying in the tent one night, and being woken up by the huffing, panting, and footsteps of a herd of deer, just outside our tent, and staying awake to listen to the hooting of an owl.
It was Nancy's first ever backpacking trip. If you ask her, she'll tell you that next time she probably won't pack so many clothes. But she had a good time, and it was great to spend time with her, doing something that I love and sharing it with her. Here we are at the end of the trip, a little trail-worn, but very happy.
