"Backpacking"

 

We had planned all summer to go backpacking. With all the fires we got nervous that we wouldn’t be able to go because they were shutting down forests left and right, but then it rained like crazy so we were good to go again. And then we found out I was pregnant...

oh I haven't said it on here...I'm Pregnant!!! We're excitedly expecting a baby March 22ndish. We find out TOMORROW what it is!!!

Anyway, so we found out I was pregnant and we figured we probably shouldn’t do the intense hiking plan just to be on the safe side. So sort of last minute we planned on going to Latir Lakes, just south of the Colorado border. It turned out to be the perfect choice.

Our plan was to drive in on Wednesday night, stay the first night there by our car, and then hike up into the higher lakes for the last few days. We pulled in as the sun was setting to a camp spot at the end of a beautiful lake. It was so peaceful and such a nice spot that the next morning we decided it would work to do a bunch of day hikes and stay put the whole three days. :) 

It was perfect and we loved it. For the most part we didn’t see many other campers and so it felt quite solitary, which we loved. The only disappointment of the trip were the stingy fish. They wanted absolutely nothing to do with me and while Stan caught a couple they were really picky about which flies they went after. 

Thursday morning we hiked up to the three lakes above where we were. Stan summited Latir peak, one of the highest mountains at 12,708 ft. (I made it most of the way but wasn’t feeling super great that day so I didn't join in.) It was absolutely beautiful. 

We decided to hike up and over a mountain (no big deal right?) to head to another lake, Heart Lake, on Friday. Actually, it was a big deal, it was another experience where I had to just put one foot in front of another and it eventually got me there and back. :) We hiked a little further past the lake to find a cabin that was on our TOPO map. It was pretty random, looked really old, but had some signs of recent use. Quite strange. We couldn’t find any more information on it though. We saw lots of grouse that day and were even startled by a few that took off in flight. The sound of their wings sounded like gunshots at first. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed so much walking through the mountains together talking and loving the scenery.

Enjoying some beef jerky by heart lake

Stan making a heart with his hands by heart lake

We weren't ever tired during this trip...

We just climbed up and over that and back again...I felt pretty hard core during most of this trip.

Saturday morning we got up and packed up, drove to another lake that had a small hike to get to it. There again we had no luck with the fish. We headed out and stopped at a river where Stan caught a few fish while I napped. :) It was a great “backpacking” trip :)