It’s all happening so fast. It seems like just a couple of weeks ago that I told Caiti I needed to get out of a toxic living situation and she told me permit applications were the following day – “Just apply, that way you’ll have it if you decide to go” she said. Seems like a few days ago that I packed up my belongings and moved into the sweet little tree house I’ve been crashing in here in Olympia.
Part of me honestly hasn’t thought about this at all really – I’ve thought about gear, and food and socks and I’ve watched hours of videos and read books and blogs and articles on everything you could possibly think of (no – truly though I found myself in a very strange 4am internet sink hole researching the ways of filtering your own urine for survival a la Kevin Costner one night…won’t be trying that one though don’t worry)…but I haven’t known how to even wrap my mind around the actual event.
I grew up camping and fishing and exploring some pretty rugged and wild Colorado and Wyoming terrain as a young kid. The outdoors have always held a special place in my heart and my mind. I haven’t done anything remotely like this though.
My favorite and longest backpacking trip has been the Putvin Primitive Trail which ends at Lake of the Angels in Klallam and Twana/Skokomish lands known to me more familiarly as the Mount Skokomish Wilderness and the Olympic National Park. The trail is steep and rough and while just shy of 4 miles – has an elevation gain of 3,300 ft. I’ve always hiked in to Lake of the Angels over a two day period – camped a few days and hiked out in one day. Most folks hike Putvin as a day hike. I figure this gives a pretty good peek at my travel style in general. I’ll take on a challenge – as long a s there’s a definite reward – and I can make my own pace.
While a four mile hike is definitely laughable even with an elevation gain, I’m no stranger to living out of and carrying a pack. I’ve spend large tracts of time without stable housing and specifically spent two months hitchhiking from New Orleans to Seattle a few years ago with my dear friend Stella. We stopped off and spent some time backpacking properly on Osage and Caddo land (Arkansas) which you can see below. At the time my priorities were centered around socializing and having as much fun as possible and my pack was brimming not only with the usual gear but also costumes and glitter and fake eyelashes! I know it weighed upwards of 40lbs when I started and I only kept stuffing things in as we thumbed and thrifted our way across the south. An amazing and wonderful trip, for sure. I still double over laughing while retelling stories. I even wound up sharing a home with Lydia, who I met in New Orleans, years later! But that pack?….ooooof. It was miserable.
This is going to be nothing like either of those experiences though. Miraculously, even with gratuitous luxuries like a tube of lipstick and a set of paints and – compared to everyone else I’ve observed – ANCIENT gear I picked up in 2012 when I actually had money to throw around…I’m weighing in with a base weight of around 15lbs. That’s just mind blowing. Turns out sequin onesies are kinda heavy – who knew?
Leave A Reply