Sock tan, sore muscles and two blisters later...

That's right, I've been backpacking! :)

Despite the unhappy prospect depicted in the title of this post, our 2 1/2 day trip was fantastic! So, let me explain...we found out that the college backpacking trip that usually happens...well, it wasn't really legal because you aren't allowed to take groups of over 20 people into parks or "wilderness" areas, so the past few weeks has been a mad scramble to figure out what to do with the students this year. It was decided to take them in groups up into Grand Teton National Park for two nights, not ideal but it would get the students out backpacking and it would be fun to show them the back country Jackson Hole. So on Thursday the staff headed out to check out what the hike would be like...

What a hike it was! We booked it in there and out in high gear man! To avoid a novel-length post, I'm just gonna give ya the highlights:

- 3 miles in we spent an hour chillaxin at these amazing pools. SO awesome!

- finally at our campsite about 7 miles in (around 4ish), we set up our tents and ALL of us just crash and sleep for about an hour. BEST nap EVER!

- mange (which means "eat" in French for those who ain't bilingual) some MREs which really shouldn't taste that good! Seriously, just add water?

raspberry crumble...dessert anyone??

- about 7:30 we all head to bed because we can't survive the hordes of mosquitoes

"wilderness mocha"

- up half the night listening to a porcupine chew on backpacks, and shoes...

- day hike to Death Shelf = 3 miles to the shelf, 3 miles along the shelf...6 miles back (poor Jess's back almost went out at the end of the shelf making the 6 miles back to camp VERY long)

Tetons from Death Shelf

our camp was in this canyon, to the right

-blown away by the amazing views. It's unbelievable that THIS much beauty can exist in a sin-cursed world, devastated by a flood!

- awe-struck by God's amazing gardens up there!

- amazed at our bodies ability to KEEP MOVING. Seriously, it's like my feet were just programed to keep moving, they surely didn't want to at the end of that day hike!

- bed at 8 second night (again with the mosquitoes) and up at 6:45am ready to head back at 8:30

- 7 miles in 2.5 hours!!! we is beast my friends!!!

- SHOWER (it's amazing how great it feels to be clean after that!)

So there's the trip in a nut shell. The theme of the hike was "flat as Kansas". Scott kept saying it would be flat in the canyon, then up on the shelf...neither of which was flat AT ALL! (we began to wonder if he'd ever been to Kansas!) So many hilarious jokes and laughter the whole time. I seriously love these people and love hiking and LOVE God's creation! Being out in it, falling asleep to the sound of water cascading over rocks, waking up to the warm morning sun, walking through fields of wildflowers which smell like heaven...how blessed I am to have this experience!