Backpacking In PA

Most of you know VSL and I trucked out to PA for my first ever backpacking trip early Sunday morning. Now, the plan was for a two day hike, however, my inexperienced ass could not hack the second day, for 14 miles was enough for me, so we came home early. Anyways, never trust a man's estimated time frame for arrival, for what was supposed to be a 2.5 hour drive was more like 4 hours. I digress, on with the photojournalism....

This is the shelter in which we slept over night. We ran into a little rain as we approached the last leg of day one, and no sooner did we get to the shelter, did the skies open up. Good thing I got my second wind when the rains came, I'm not sure hiking in lightening is the safest of things to do. VSL was drinking Tang throughout the first days hike, and might have spilled a little on his pants/shirt/gear. This may sound like nothing of significance, but oh is it. After the rain, we had changed out of our sweaty clothes and dropped our gear in the shelter. Now, bees are attracted to sweet/sticky substances, such as Tang. Shortly after the rain stopped, the bees decided to get in on the Tang action that VSL had going with his backpack and hanging pants. Now, I got to see a side of VSL that most people probably don't know about. It turns out he is TERRIFIED of bees!!! He was swatting at the bees with his hat, jumping every time he thought he heard them buzzing. He could not even attend to a conversation while dancing a jig in efforts not to get stung!!!!!!! From this day forward I suggest he be known as "Killah Bee" instead of Vanilla Soy Latte. Priceless shit man.
This is a picture from the top of the mountain (hill) that we had climbed. I must admit that the first day was tough. We were hiking at 1pm, possibly the hottest time of the day, in sweltering heat & humidity, and I was doubting my abilities. I made it despite the obstacles. Day two turned out to be much easier, perhaps because I knew what to expect. I stayed hydrated, a key element, and felt out a pace that was right for me. Not to mention we started at 9:45 AM before the real heat & humidity had a chance to set. It was a beautiful sight, and well worth the agony of hiking 14 miles round trip.
Here is the spot we stopped for lunch, as you can see Killah Bee is snacking on some Kashi and enjoying nature. I grubbed on a peanut butter granola bar and enjoyed the scenery.

This little lizard was kick ass. He hung out near the shelter doing his own thing. He looked really cool so I snapped a few shots of him. This is the only one that didn't come out blurry!! Well, that's the recap on the backpacking trip. I'd definitely do it again, and think it's a must before Silk heads out west. It took two days for my body to stop being sore, but I'm glad I did it. It's a hell of a workout and lets you be in nature. Yay for backpacking!!!

Medusa Jones