Our first backpacking trip together! Kaylyn and I had been prepping for weeks to make sure we had all that we needed, even doing some local hikes with our full gear to be ready for the weight. We’re not completely sure why we decided to drive over to the Phoenix area for our first backpacking trip, maybe it was my interest in old westerns. The area looks like it came straight out of a John Wayne film.
So Kaylyn is known for forgetting things, usually nothing more than forgetting where here cell phone is. But this time was one to remember. Driving from Orange County to the Phoenix area, there is an exit in Palm Springs where you have the last stop before a long stretch of empty desert. At that exit we got off the freeway for gas and there Kaylyn realized that she forgot her hiking boots! And not only that, but the only other thing she had were sandals, which is clearly not ideal for an overnight backpacking trip. After a quick freak-out, we looked at the map and learned that by some miracle there was a Big 5 Sporting Goods store around the corner. So we found a cheaper pair of hiking shoes that will do the trick, and went on our merry way. Onward!
So the funniest and craziest thing happened while we spent the night out in Superstition desert, though at the time it was definitely NOT funny. Our grand idea was to pitch our tent on the top of a mesa to get a good view of the surrounding mountains. This was a good idea at the time, because the weather forecast was clear skies, and that held up even up to falling asleep.
We woke up in the middle of the night seeing a flash outside. My thoughts went to some creepy guy taking flash photos of our tent, probably because of all the true crime shows we watch! The flashes kept happening, but then came the thunder. Lightning! We were relieved it wasn’t some murderer, but now worried that we were on an exposed hilltop with no trees to protect us from the lightning. After hunkering down for over an hour, the wind picked up, rain pelted the tent, and thunder passed us by until we finally fell asleep. A little damp and groggy in the morning, we packed things up and made our way back to the car.
About 9 miles roundtrip, it was a fun trip that quickly taught us how things can go unexpectedly – especially the weather!
Where were we…?
Wright Around the Bend 