Into the Wild

The title says it all pretty much.  The summer after junior year, all those who participate in YoungLife are given the opportunity to sign up for the much heard of trip to Wilderness Ranch.  Now, Wilderness Ranch is just the name of the base camp.  This is where the groups are formed and all who go attempt to shove and squeeze all their necessities and belongings for the week into a heavy-duty hiking backpack.  Here's the thing though; this backpack will be going everywhere with you for the week, so the objective is to take the right amount of clothing and equipment but not to pack too heavy of an amount for your spine to handle.

The "wilderness" part comes into play once one of the workers from the base camp has dropped you and your group off an hour away from base camp at a trail head, and let me tell you, I don't know what I was expecting, but this was definitely harder.  The week consisted of hiking to new campsites daily with a heavy pack on your back (which is carrying everything you will be living off of the rest of the week).  In my pack I carried my clothes, my sleeping bag, my sleeping mat, the tarp for our tents, the heavy fettuccine alfredo dinner, and other necessities like a headlamp and tooth paste.

I went into this week with a positive attitude and hoping for the best.  And although it was probably the most difficult week of my life, it was the most life changing and amazing as well.  I got to know all the girls in my group so well as we all told our life stories throughout the course of the week.  We all cried--some from the difficulty of the trail, and some from emotional pain.  In the end, though, it was so rewarding.  We all decided that the 31-mile hike was painful and grueling, but 100% worth the bond we had all made with each other.  Long story short, I had the best time of my life on that trail.  Those who know me don't exactly pin me as the "earthy" and "camper" type, but I am proud to say and not ashamed to brag that I survived in the wilderness, slept on the ground, and lived off hope for a week in the wilderness.

This saying somehow ended up being our motto for the week, we would always say it when we needed a good laugh to push us up the mountain.

Although sleeping on the ground was a difficulty for all, we were a bit sad to leave our camp site to begin our next day of hiking each morning.

Getting though the week was made a little easier we found out by just putting big smiles on our faces and pretending like we weren't in pain.

This is a picture from the day we woke up at 3 AM to peak a mountain top.  It took us about 5 hours I would say, but it seemed like forever while hiking up in the rain and sleet.

Once we got to the bottom, we were frozen and most of us couldn't feel our fingers.  We decided to make a huge source of body heat by huddling together. It was a success until we were forced to get our packs back on and hit the trail once more.

The beautiful San Juan mountains of Colorado always rewarded us with a gorgeous sun-set at the end of our days of hiking as we sat at dinner and told stories and enjoyed our time to rest.

In the end, I am so glad I went on this amazing trip with such amazing ladies.  Getting on the bus to head back to Houston was such a difficulty as we had to leave our 3 beloved guides behind.  Tears were shed, but we promised to find a way to stay in touch!