Camp Vibes

My husband and I have been talking about going on a camping trip for years. Literally. When we put together our wedding registry we added a tent on the list in hopes that we could make camping our "thing". Then life happened. Deployment, Flight School, Pregnancy and now a baby. 

This week we decided that there will always be reasons keeping us from going on adventures and that if we really wanted to make it happen we just had to do it. My husband did some research and found a great place for us to hike and camp that was just a couple of hours away from our home. We got together our camping gear, prepared chili, packed canned salmon and some power bars and the next morning we were on our way!

It needs to be said that I have not worked out in 14+ months and even before then I have never been very fit. So I was nervous about not only hiking to an elevation of 8,000 feet, but doing so while wearing my four month old.

You guys, it was hard. I had to push myself and may have yelled at my husband once or twice ;) but in the end it was worth it. Funny how that works. The views were stunning, my husband was in his element and it was so nice for us to get away from our daily routine. 

Gray loves being outdoors and also enjoys the ergo so I knew that he would do great during the hike.  We also needed to stop often do to the steep incline so Gray was able to stretch his legs and play with dad. ^^

For lunch we stopped at an absolutely beautiful spot that looked our over the mountain. We had just completed the hardest part of the hike so it felt so good to relax, enjoy our sandwiches and take in the views around us. 

After hiking 3.8 miles uphill ((of the 5.3 miles we were supposed to hike that day)) we decided to set up camp. By this point I was exhausted and was extremely thankful that there was a campsite near by! 

The mountain we were on offered remote camping options which was so much fun We loved the fact that there were not any other campers around. 

Sleeping in a tent with a 4 month old is not an easy task, but we made it through the night and gray was one happy baby when we decided it was time to get up! ^^^

After breakfast we packed up our tent, took a quick family photo and then started our journey back down the mountain. I must say going back down was a wonderful experience. We took our time and we were able to enjoy the breathtaking views and cool weather. 

Towards the end of the hike we saw a baby black bear ^^^ whose mom was thankfully nowhere to be seen! 

This was such a good trip for us and we are already looking into where we are going to hike/camp next. Although next time we decided we will look for an easier hike ;)

xo

anna lizbeth