Hiking @ MindSay

Are you shopping for El Paso camping gear? There are several things you need to take into consideration before hitting the stores. First, think about the climate where you're going. For a hot climate, you'll need tents, clothing and sleeping materials made from light yet weather resistant material. Another consideration is how natural you want your experience to be. Do you want to sleep under the stars or would you prefer spending your nights in a comfortable tent or even a trailer? Finally, think about your group. How many people will you need to provide for?

After you've evaluated the region where you'll be camping and considered how many people are in your group, you will be better equipped to stock up on gear. First, make sure you have the basics. A tent large enough to accommodate everyone, or more than one tent depending on the dynamics of your group, is a must. Each person will need sleeping materials which may include sleeping bags, cots or inflatable mattresses. You will need food, cooking implements such as a camping stove or grill, and utensils to cook and eat with like pots, pans, plates, bowls and cups. Plenty of bottled water for drinking, cooking and hygiene is a definite must have. You will also need trash bags for all your waste materials.

Many campers, especially those with children in their group, will want to bring some comforts of home along. Toilet tissue is important for every member of your party! Kids will enjoy things like handheld video games, board games, and coloring books. Fun items like these will keep them busy in case of boredom. Small children might require a favorite stuffed animal or toy they are attached to so that they can feel more comfortable and secure. Let your child select an item or two to take on the camping trip with them.

Your El Paso camping gear can be purchased in most any outdoor supply store. If you can't find what you need at a brick and mortar location, consider shopping on the Internet. The wide array of specialty shops online make it easy to find everything you need for any kind of outdoor adventure. Whether you're camping with family, friends or on your own, you can find the perfect supplies quickly and easily with a little online shopping. and, you can often find them at lower prices than many regular stores offer.

I WALKED IN THE WOODS!

 

Not on a path either mind you.

 

WOOD, logs, trees, limbs, roots, holes. Now, this may not seem like a big deal to most of y'all...but to me.. its HUGE.

 

I did have to dig out my old cane so I would have support as my left foot still tends to tip out to the side as I walk and being on very uneven ground it was challenging. I am not going to lie..I was nervous. Even thought about just telling my husband.. nope.. I don't think so.. .But I pressed through. Got a stomach ache. So we ended up leaving later.

 

My husband is so patient. I know he was waiting on hearing me say I wasn't feeling well. It really just made me that nervous. First of all the  hunting area is not around the corner...its about 40 miles away. Then I didn't want to begin the walk and not be able to make it to his destination......etc..etc.. etc.

 

So, I put on my camoflage pants and doo-rag. A girl has got to look the part. :)  Hubby failed to tell me that it really was QUITE a hike back there AND that it wasn't a CLEAR CLEAN PATH. hum.  Methinks he is smarter than he looks.

 

I really did well. By the end of it, I was VERY glad to see the truck. My leg was a little quivery and my hand was tired from clutching the stupid cane...but I never fell once! I really felt GREAT about doing something that I didn't think I would ever be able to do again. And I enjoyed going out with my husband. I made a few videos to send share with his nephew who enjoys hunting in NY and cannot fathom that here in GA Mark can get like 10 or more deer in one season on one tag.

 

Also, recorded him adding minerals to the ground and how he did it, so I will make a ehow article probably in the next few days using that video... I still prefer pavement or a more well defined path though...lmao!  And I didn't get to see a deer either :(  I think my husband enjoyed showing me where he will be spending the majority of his time during hunting season.

 

I am going to enroll the puppies in a training class I do believe. Might as well do it on Saturdays if I can. I need to find someone to help me, be the other 'handler' for one of the pups, or I am going to have to take the class twice, one with each of the puppies seperately. That will be more time consuming for sure...but they are 14 weeks old, and I want them to be healthy and happy. And I want to keep my sanity :)

 

WEll, enjoy the photos and vids kids! The last pic in gallery is of my tired tootsies.. I think we walked about 3 miles!

 

Love and Laughter,

Dawn

 

  My blair witch....I don't have pro, so I couldnt turn it to black and white. Maybe another time :) I am such an idiot! LOL! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

now isnt this neat?

 

Have been getting some hiking in every day for the past 3 days- feels good - like training for the daily hikes in Yellowstone in just a few short weeks.

Friday we took the entire core (70+ kids) down 6 1/2 miles of the Monument Canyon trail in Colorado National Monument. With bus schedules dictating our day ... and a return trip to the "bus barn" after leaving the school, to trade buses as something was broken and the first bus could not make the trip up into the Monument.... we had a mere 3 1/2 hours to make the entire trek . . . a process I lovingly call the "death march". It turned out to be a great day, though... the kids were all troopers and I think most if not all of them had some fun! Here are a few being eaten by FROG ROCK! LOL!

 


Yesterday I grabbed a friend who was with me when we missed a cache.... ended up on a trail way above the desired location... so, looking down on it some weeks ago, we pledged to return.... Turned out to be "Mike the Headless Chicken" Days in Fruita so the area was alive... and there was a "Hike for Mike" event going on in the very same area we were headed for. We discovered that the Mike this event was dedicated to was a fellow science teacher that died while on a field trip with students - hiking to Delicate Arch a couple of years ago. The proceeds will be used to help fund the extension of our riverfront trail - hopefully from one end of the valley to the other someday! After we went and retrieved the cache... I dug in my pocket and found enough to sponsor myself in the hike... seemed like a fitting memorial and a good cause! Today I called another friend (don't want to burn out hiking buddies!).. and off we went to walk down a streambed strewn with petroglyphs (technically pictographs, I believe)... headed to the Colorado River. A little over 2 miles each way.. and such a beautiful day! The cactus are just starting to bloom. So nice

She found the first stage of this multi-cache!



The Indian Paintbrush is in bloom- this is one of the largest clumps I have ever seen!
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Above.... look deep under the overhang to see the pictographs
and the claret cup cacti are just beginning to open up... my favorite!


Prickly pear cactus blossoms and yucca blooms in background

More pictographs...

No picture of the final adventure... there was another geocache just across the road when we got back to the parking area... so I headed over to grab it. Finding it under the juniper tree was no problem.. a large cookie tin covered with rocks. I moved the camo and reached for the can when the bright pattern of yellow and black caught my eye from under the can. Three coils of a snake, about and inch in diameter, were visible - it never moved, but I was frozen in my tracks... pretty sure I wasn't brave enough to continue retrieving ... and then replacing the can. But a bit hesitant to replace the camo, also. Finally I decided it was happy where it was and would allow me to push the rocks up around the can. I'll save signing THAT log for another day!

Yesterday I went hiking with some friends--it was one of those outings that made me realize how adult I was, where I felt instead of being in a friendship, really, it was sort of a tentative agreement to go hiking with some people and try them out as friends.  I could try to puzzle it out a little more for you, but I'm afraid that is as articulate as I am going to get.

It was fun, however, which is the bottom line.  I was at the end of the line, being in the worst shape of the assembled parties, which is always good for the self-esteem.  In my own defense, I am fighting a cold which doesn't help your ability to race up hills and trails.  It was a good hike, challenging with lots of scrambling up rocks and beautiful vistas.  I'm feeling it a little in my legs, but that is a desired effect of a good hike. 

A few months ago my husband and I had gone on a hike in a similar area.  It was not a good hike.  Granted, we made several mistakes in our planning, choosing to hike in the early afternoon of a hot day in late summer, and not being very sure of where the trail actually was and walking up what had to be a goat path until we felt that we'd summited something.  I am kind of ashamed to admit that I, at several points, sat down and refused to go any further.  However, I admitted the previous in the interest of full disclosure.  And it makes the following information make sense.

Sometimes I do not enjoy hiking while I am actually doing it.  I get a little obsessive about milemarkers and a little irrational about being safe.  (I'm the girl who brings a first aid kit, imagining the ranger's disapproving face when an injury inevitably happens and I have to confess that I didn't have a first aid kit).  I worry that I don't really like hiking, I just do it because I want to be the type of person who likes hiking.

I was surprised at how crowded the trail was, which is my usual state of being any time I do something outdoorsy in California.  In Missouri, you can be pretty sure that the State Parks are empty and they are a nice place to go to get away from people, but that is not something you can count on in California.  People are out in the parks, on the trails, walking their dogs and carrying their babies across the terrain. 

I am of two minds on this.  On one hand, I'm like, Awesome.  Great--way to go, be healthy, be outside instead of watching reality TV.  On the other, majorly selfish hand, I am slightly disapointed that I have to share the park.  I also am missing the moral superiority I get from being the "individual who hikes," and that being a unique thing; as opposed to being one of many people who hike.

But then I do like it.  I like it because its hard, I like it for the perspective you get when you are up on top of something, and I like it because its exercise, physical activity that makes me feel good about myself and what I can do.  Maybe its bad, but there is a gigantic sense of accomplishment that comes from realizing that I can do a four mile hike up and down--so if the situation were to arise where I had to hike (nuclear war, end of society as we know it, whatever) that my body can handle some of the challenges.  This links to my "If I get stuck on a deserted island" thing, which I'm sure I'll cover later.