Vermillion Valley Resort – Bear Creek
My oh my, are we turning into power balls! We walked the 19 km to Bear Creek, 8 of which were steep uphill switchbacks, in less than six hours including breaks. Bear Creek was our sketchiest river crossing so far, but we luckily found a log to ease our passing.
Taking the ferry back across Lake Edison, headed back into the wild.
We were already tucked in at 18.00, sleeping bags fluffed up and teeth brushed. Today was all a blur of new mountain views, aspen forests and autopilot hiker mood. Our packs were loaded with stuffed bear cannisters, but it didin’t feel nearly as crippling as on the first day from Rush Creek. On the other hand, I still longed for a bed. My sticky sleeping bag liner smelled, I smelled, the tent smelled, everything smelled. My face was covered in salt from sweating all day, and the brown dirt forming in the cracks of my fingers stubbornly refused to be scrubbed off.
On Bear Ridge
After a zero day, it struck me that one of the defining features of backpacking is how unavailable everything is. If you want something in your regular life, all you do is reach out and grab it. Worst case, you walk a few minutes to a store to buy it.
Here, I had no options. I had to eat the exact supplies for the day, no matter what they were. There is something incredibly liberating about carrying all you need on your back, but I’m not going to romanticise it overly. There is no margin of error, a missing item can be disastrous.
I sacrificed my book to compensate for the heavy food, and already regretted it. Some of you must be thinking “how can she be so unappreciative of nature?”, and I don’t blame you. But when all you see is nature 24/7, you grow desperate for entertainment. A movie, any movie…
I guess that’s why these trail adventures are rumoured to be so introspective.
