But for ME, she said she'd overlook that and at least try backpacking one time.
On Saturday we headed up to North Carolina and made a quick stop at the Pisgah ranger station. They had a bathroom there and I wanted to buy a map. From there we headed over to one of my favorite hiking areas, the Art Loeb Trail at Black Balsm Knob. The severe weather had just passed through on Friday night and there was almost nobody on the trail Saturday morning.
Once we got to the top we started to realize what a windy day in the mountains was all about. This is the kind of wind where a gust will knock you on your butt. At one peak, we turned and tried to walk against the wind and it was nearly impossible. Even with the strong winds, the sun was out and the temperatures were good for hiking.
We had lunch on the side of the mountain, leaning against a warm rock. It was awesome. We made our way to the beginning of the Shining Rock Wilderness area and talked about our options. Fires are prohibited in the wilderness area so we decided to stay just outside of the border. We found a small stand of trees and some tall bushes to put our tent against but the wind still pushed hard at its sides.
As the sun went down the wind seemed to pick up intensity. Through the mountains you could hear the gusts rushing toward you. A few seconds later the cold air would hit you hard. We had a small camp fire going, but it wasn't enough to battle the cold winds. We heated up rocks in the fire and then held them in our laps for warmth. Still not enough heat. We finally surrendered to the weather and found shelter in our tent. At 6:30pm it was bed time.
As we had packed and planned this trip, we planned for rain, but failed to prepare properly for the cold. We were both freezing. I was disappointed in myself for this misjudgment. After 18 months of trying to get her on the trail with me, she was facing some pretty harsh conditions. This wasn't the "relaxing by the fire" type of camp I had hoped for. This was "go to bed at 6:30pm and try to survive" camping. "She'll never go again", I thought to myself. All through the evening, Cari kept a smile on her face and we had a great time dealing with problems together.
Saturday night I would woke up and heard the freight train sound of the wind rushing through the mountains almost nonstop.
In the morning we woke up to a white landscape. It hadn't snowed, but frost covered the ground, the tent, and the tree tops. Normally, I am up early while backpacking and this trip wasn't any different. Normally, I get right to work tearing down the tent and getting packed up. On this trip, I stayed in the tent until late morning when the sun was higher in the sky and warming the earth.
After we got packed up and started moving it didn't feel quite as cold. We had a nice walk back toward the car and I was excited to hear Cari say she would be happy to join me again sometime. Her only stipulation was that next time it would be much warmer. I agreed. We had both suffered since the sun went down Saturday evening. Cari also said she would be planning our very next get-away and it would be in a climate controlled hotel.
When I find something that I love, like backpacking, it's made so much better when I can share it with the person I love, Cari. We had a great time and I can't wait to go with her again.
Eighteen months of telling her bathrooms are over rated was totally worth it, even if she never believed me.
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