A summer of memories

I’ve been known to get caught up in the moment.

Maybe it’s not just me, but I have a hard time seeing the vast importantness of life’s moments until they’re happening or shortly after. I get so caught up in the exact moment that, presto, the big shindig happens and then later on I realize big-picture awesomeness.

This summer has been action packed and it’s all starting to hit me. So far I’ve been part of five weddings, two bachelor parties, bought a house and celebrated my first wedding anniversary. Big summer, almost too big to see just how big it’s been.

For the most recent wedding, I was privileged to be the minister (yes, I registered online and yes, they’ll let nearly anyone sign up!). I helped my sister-in-law and her groom with the script, edited everything so it had a nice flow and found time to practice it in front of my wife a few times.

Never did I realize the power those words held and the emotion they would bring. I was in charge of the biggest day of two people’s lives, the day their parents dreamed of, the day their friends and family drove hundreds of miles to witness.

Just before I started the ceremony, I was introduced to the groom’s mother. She’s wonderful, thanking me for doing this for her son, who she’s so happy for. Then it hit me like a punch from Mike Tyson. Today means the world to her; she’s flown to Oregon from Nebraska and the guy responsible for pulling it off? Me.

The ceremony went great. I made some funny ad-lib jokes about the Oregon weather and everyone said I did a great job after. But it was the hug from the now-husband’s mom that took me back. She was teary, happy and so proud of the man her son became. Proud that she was able to be there and meet her new in-laws.

I felt out-of-body for a moment and realized whenever she thought of that day, her son and his new wife accepting their rings, she would also see me. She’ll remember me guiding them through their vows, three words at a time, and saying, “I now pronounce you husband and wife!”

I’ve been trying to spend this year in the moment and not being another cellphone-distracted live-life-through-a-digital-screen you-know-what. I’ve made memories to last a lifetime because of it and it turns out, I’m starting to realize how I’m helping make memories for everyone else.

Double win.

Pt. Reyes – 1 Year Anniversary

What do two outdoor junkies do for their first wedding anniversary? Backpacking, of course! We try to head to Point Reyes at some point each season and decided to book this trip long before our wedding-filled crazy summer. What a good idea!

The cool coastal air was a sigh of relief from the brutal heat of Sacramento this summer. We stopped to get our permits and plan our route. We were up for a challenge and decided to take the long way to Glen Camp, a 7.5 mile hike mostly along Sky Trail.

We made good time getting up the steep Meadow Trail to Sky Trail, hung a left and followed it down to Baldy Trail. If you’re reading this, don’t hike Baldy Trail! The name is misleading; the trail has not been maintained in a long time and the Poison Oak is rampant and waist to shoulder high in some areas.

Can you see the trail? Me neither.

The trail continues downhill to Glen Trail and Glen Camp Loop. We wound in and out of thick canopy until we found camp. Point Reyes is great for having steel boxes and benches at each site, but the camp was very exposed to the mid-day sun and fairly warm. Still, better than not backpacking, so we took the time to relax and nap.

Being our anniversary, Kari hiked in a very nice bottle of wine from our wedding venue in a lightweight Platypus wine bag. Classy! We enjoyed some dinner, put the tent fly on in preparation for the morning fog and called it a night.

The hike out was a little different and longer. We decided to avoid Baldy Trail and the Poison Oak and hike from Glen Trail to Coast Trail. Not only did we avoid a bad trail, but we got more ocean views, cool breezes and wildlife.

 

 

We continued up Coast Trail until we met the end of Sky Trail, heading back uphill a for the majority of our hike. We turned off a bit earlier than before to explore a new trail for us; Old Pine Trail. We hiked under the cool canopy through the last few hours of the morning fog and until we found ourselves back at Bear Valley Trail, the main connector and our way to the parking lot. 

Glen Camp is nice, but not our favorite at this park. We still need to explore Sky Camp, but the hike is too short to get us really interested. Next time, we’ll plan a hike here during winter to make the sun exposure to our advantage. Pack weight was 26 lbs for me, carrying the tent on my own, and 23 lbs for Kari.

Get out there and have fun!

Backpacking Penner Lake

It was late June, perfect weather and a chance to teach the next generation about the joys of backpacking. We headed to Tahoe National Forest to hike from the Carr/Feeley Lakes trailhead, accessible with moderate ground clearance on any 4×4, to hike to Penner Lake. It’s a short 3.5 (approximately) miles and could make for a great day hike, too.

The trail starts off fairly level, crossing over the damn behind Feeley Lake and heading around a handful of other gorgeous lakes. At the Y on the southern end of Island Lake, keep right and hike around the left side of the lake. The views are amazing.

The trail climbs steadily up a ridge that ends just as Penner Lake comes into view. We continued along the trail to get around to the far side before setting up camp. We found a flat spot with some fallen logs about 50 yards uphill from the trail.

That night glowed with the light of a super moon, some kind of rare occurrence we’re told. It was bright all night long, making headlamps near un-needed.

 

We packed up the following morning as the clouds came in. We got a little rain during a lunch break, but the tree canopy did a great job keeping us dry as we trotted our way back to the trailhead.

Pack weight for this overnighter was 28 pounds, a little heavy for such a short trail and trip. Greg and I carried extra supplies to lighten the loads of our young campers. This is a popular area with limited trailhead parking, so get up early and make it happen.

Have fun!