So DH and I just got back from a five day camping trip up in the high Sierras near Mammoth Lake. Fun, but pretty exhausting and I now feel like I need an extra two days off from my five days off. I think this was the most active camping trip we've ever done. We did one really long hike, then two shorter ones, plus some driving around and exploring the area a bit. Now, camping is not really *my* thing. Its DH's hobby, especially with off roading mixed in. It has gotten a lot more enjoyable though, since he bought a little teardrop trailer that helps keep us protected from the elements and has a kitchen in the back. Now if only Teardrop could figure out a way to cram a bathroom and shower in there...
On the hikes, I have to say I was very impressed with my stamina and ability to actually hike at 11,000 feet and not die. Last time we tried hiking at altitude (probably around 8,000 feet) I had to stop every ten feet to catch my breath. This time though, I trucked up those switchbacks like a boss. Actual altitude gain was probably around 800 ft, topping out at 11,000. So, thank you CrossFit! Functional fitness at its best, and that is with only working out three times a week for short periods of time. I feel like I am walking proof that high intensity interval training (which is essentially what most of our workouts are) really does work.
As for the rest of the trip, we saw a really cool national monument called Devil's Postpile and then visited a well known ghost town called Bodie. I think the high Sierra's are growing on me a bit as I did used to not love the whole high desert scene. As a kid I spent most of my time amongst towering pines and granite, not scrub brush. But there is definitely a different kind of beauty to the area, and I am coming to appreciate it more. Although the appreciation ends at the random thunderstorms that happen up there in the summer. We got caught in one on the way back from one of our hikes and we were drenched in a matter of minutes. We had to run back to camp, and shove everything under our trailer, all while getting rained/hailed on. All in all though, it was fun and I managed to take a lot of nice pictures. Some didn't turn out as well as they could have because I forgot to switch the ISO setting on my camera to "auto" (whoops) but thats okay. I'm still trying to get the hang of the whole manual setting dealio.
I haven't seen Arwen in 5 days but I'm going to go out there tomorrow and hack her. We'll see how she behaves!
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