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(57 votes) Published: Mar 16, 2001 12:00 a.m. Viewed 424 times
Your pack is now your friend, an extension of your body. It gives you a sense of confidence to know that you, together with your pack, are ready to brave the elements and conquer a small piece of wilderness. You will brave the wilds and feel a glowing satisfaction as the miles fall behind and you reach your destination.
As you let your pack down from your weary shoulders onto a bed of soft pine needles, you think of the hearty supper waiting within and realize why backpackers so affectionately refer to their pack as ’The Stone.’ You will smell the pines and feel the chill in the evening breeze as the sun dips behind the tall peaks around you, three hours before it would back home.
You smell your match as you strike it and apply it to the carefully gathered, small pile of dry tinder. You will look at the friends huddled around the small flame and relish the glow in their eyes as you watch the reflection of the flames dancing on their face and in their eyes. As you peel the sweaty socks from your blistered feet, you will feel an amazing sense of relief.
You will sleep not so soundly as the unfamiliar sounds of the mountain night reach your ears and the sticks and rocks that you thought you had so carefully cleared away reach into your sore muscles. But soon, the whisper of the breeze in the pines will sing you a soft lullaby and the dreariness of a long day on the trail will put you into a gentle trance.
The next thing you know will be the chatter of a squirrel in the early morning light, or the shrill howl of a coyote saying ’Top of the morning to ya!’
As you enjoy your breakfast and hot cocoa, you will know you spent a night on the mountain. You carried your whole kit in on your back, and your load is only getting lighter as you finish your rations. You carefully restore your camp site to a pristine condition, looking on with satisfaction to know that no one will be able to tell that you were ever here.
The realization sets in, as you load up and shoulder your pack, that you now have to make the whole trail in reverse. Your shoulders are aching as you start on your way, but the pack is light, the food is gone, and the blood begins to pump.
It seems like only a few minutes and you are back at the truck. There were times you wondered what you were doing here. Your feet ache, your back aches, your shoulders REALLY ache, and you need a good night’s sleep. But in a day or two, when the aching is gone, you will only look back at it with a sense of longing. You will never forget your night on the mountain. You will keep asking everyone ’When are we going to go backpacking again????’
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