when the concubine shoes were taken off...

i went on a 3.5 hour hike

remember the time i ran the dirty-dash? and dash really meant 6 miles? and i ran the whole thing in concubine shoes? still don't remember??? then you can refresh your memory reading it here.... 

so after that quick little dash i ran in the early morning,
our outdoorsy friends Matt&Michele planned a little camping trip up into the canyon
i must say, i hadn't done the whole backpack camping thing
EVER
how hard could it be? carrying your clothing, make-up.. oh wait no room, oh yes carrying your
SLEEPING BAG, TENT, AND FOOD
all i knew is that people that "backpacked" looked suuuper cool and i wanted to look JUST like them one day
i was up for the challenge.
after getting all the mud out of crevices i never knew i had
i was packed up and ready to go.
i didn't realize you REALLY can't pack much of anything.. luckily i DID pack a pack of cards
and a toothbrush and of course toilet paper
little anh long was sooo NEW to this experience of camping. the good little adventurer that i am
packed his bag with all his necessities..  including his "FAVORITE" beanie (obviously his fave)

we hopped in the car and headed up around 5pm.
our car Virgin Mary isn't quite the Virgin anymore :(
as we took her up the canyon
SHE KEPT BOTTOMING OUT!
we were literally driving on the side of the cliff (with constant shrieks from *cough* long)
"BE CAREFUL, PLEASE BE CAREFUL, LOOK OUT, THERE'S A HUGE ROCK"
boom boom boom and soo on. the drive was driven like a pro of course (i was driving in case you were wondering) and i kept my cool.

we FINALLY made it
and it
was
black
outside

&& we had 2.2 miles to hike
with our homes on top of our backs

and so that is just what we did. we hiked. took turns holding the tent. crossed rivers. got lost for an hour. climbed up up up. ripped our muscles. & sweated like beasts underneath the 6 layers we had on.

in the middle of the dark we were lost. we climbed up then back down then back up and down again
as we were lost in the middle of NO WHERE, we had CELL PHONE RECEPTION. it was truly a miracle considering being in the tops of the mountains & an hour from civilization. we called a friend & of course he said
"just follow the trail! it just keeps going up up up!"
i forgot to mention we were trying to get to
Silver lake
& going up up up to the top top top of the mountain sounded absurd for a location of the lake. however, that wise man was correct.
so we followed the horse crap. i mean if horses can get there, there must be a clear path.
FINALLY i smelled camp fire. and i knew we were closer than ever.
i took the honor of making it up to the top so i could yell at long to catch up :)

i'm pretty sure i freaked out the boys that were bonding around a fire as i ran towards them and greeting them ever so happily but i could care less and was just happy to see people (even if they were REALLLLLLYYYYYYY drunkk!) but alas we had made it at 11pm!

since it was BLACK outside and hardly any flat ground anywhere, we plopped anywhere we could set up a tent.we found out the next morning we were actually on the trail that overlooked the lake.

let's just say i was more than exhausted.
and we still had to make dinner.
i helped out as much as i could but all i could think was how cold i was and how ridiculous i was after all that i had done that day.

while the food finished cooking, i pulled out my sleeping bag. the real camper sleeping bag. the kind that will keep you warm in -20 degree weather. the kind that costs too much for me to think it would be worth paying for.

did i mention the sleeping bag was for children??? hmm.. yah. please imagine.

my large body. long skinny legs. long arms. a rather plump belly.
stuffed into a
CHILD'S SLEEPING BAG
it only came up to my chest. i swear i bent my body in every way possible just to cover my arm.
but. i gave up. fell asleep with half my body covered.

dinner was ready by 1am. i joined the crew. ate.

and went straight back to bed after peeing of course (&& let me tell you.. being a girl sucks. you bet your bottom all my pants came off!!)

as we were preparing for bed
i told long "good luck getting in!"
and .5 seconds later
he was
in
covered and everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
dang asians. they crumble their bodies to fit anything. [and that is why we probably will never buy a king sized bed :(  boo!]

and there i laid for an hour listening to the deep breathing of my asian husband, comfortably sleeping in a children's sleeping bag.
(note the ADULT sleeping bags below)

we woke up the next morning looking over the lake!

& the first thing i needed to do was pee of course!
so one by one layers came off. when we had first gotten to the camp site, it felt like no one was around. and no one would be coming for all i thought.
can you please just guess what happened next???????????

well i told my husband to PLEASE keep his EYES peeled JUST IN CASE anyone decided to pop by while i was doing my thing. i striped down. i felt great!
and just as i was getting back into my outterwear
a man
a hiking man
walks by
and sees
oh i don't knooooooooooowwwwwwww
EVERYTHINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
LONG DUCK DONG DEF DID NOT HAVE HIS EYES PEELED
& that hiker man was quite astonished to see me peeing
in his trail
with his poor son behind

i think i screamed sorry like 1357462835700000000 times.
em-barass-ing
:(

i don't think i've ever been so exposed in my whole entire life besides getting my diaper changed.. but what did i know then?

obviously i started my day off right.
for the rest of the day we laid around, enjoyed the scenery, played cards, dipped our feet in the water, got yelled at by smoky the bear's wife for camping in the trail, starting a fire the a trail, and being a human in the trail.

that evening we changed locations so we could take a leak in peace and not be worried to flash anyone.
it was secluded. had a large campfire and logs to sit around.

the one thing i missed the most was a decent chair. esp since my man legs were burning from my muscles ripping after the dash.

camping was quite the adventure. we boiled water on a campfire.

we set up camp twice. we had to keep all our trash and bring it back. i slept in a baby's sleeping bag.

we filtered lake water whenever we were thirsty since we didn't bring any water with us.. i ate s'mores for breakfast. long learned i love my s'mores black black. charcoal black.

 i flashed an old man. i peed anywhere i felt like. we hiked in the pitch black. we crossed a river with 50lb houses on our backs.

and we enjoyed each others company through it all.

not sure if i would say i'm the hardcore camper type (i know i totally look like one though)

 but definitely loved the experience.
Next time i think i would like to drive up to a camp site with a bathroom, bring soda, lawn chairs, and a mattress.

i'm just happy i can die saying
"yah.. i totes did that whole back packing thing when i was a youngin with my love long duck dong!"

(at least i hope i die old enough to say i was a youngin..
and hopefully i'm not still saying totes at 90 years old)