We went backpacking for the first time in five years. It has been a goal of ours this year. Because we’re older and wiser, we are easing ourselves back into it, trip by trip.
Our route was 4.5 miles into Crystal Lake where we'd set up camp, then continue to Circle Peak without our packs. The whole trip was 18 miles, with only half of it actually backpacking.
Before we set foot on the trail head, we knew that it was overgrown. Tyler had looked up the recent trail reviews, and even our hiking book said it was overgrown. He even sharpened the machete his sister had given him as a present from Tanzania years ago to use if necessary. We were ready for the brush that lay before us.
Well, for the most part. We accidentally slept a little later than we wanted, so we didn’t get started until 9 a.m. and by then, it was already plenty warm. And our shorts and short sleeves were not optimal for the overgrown path. He tried swinging the machete for a bit, but we got into a patch of young alders and there wasn’t much the blade could do besides bounce off the wood. We forged ahead, made it out and up to the lake. After cooling off in the shade, we made camp and relaxed for the rest of the day.
The next morning we set off early for Circle Peak. It’s now one of my favorite hikes because of the the changing terrain; old growth forest, meadow wetlands, alpine forest, mountain wildflowers and the view of the mountain range from the top. You could see Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, the Three Matterhorns and all the other peaks in between.
When we got back to camp we had hammock time. We watched the world just go on it’s merry way. The birds, an occasional trout jumping, spiders’ building their webs high up between the trees, bees collecting pollen from the berry bushes, and a dragon fly darting around like a World War II attach plane. For how busy it was, it was incredibly still. Sometimes it’s nice to sit and just be for our last night there.
In the morning, we had to head back to it all. The hike out wasn’t hard physically, but I wasn’t ready to leave yet.
I can’t wait for the next adventure.
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