The second day was a long one. The night before we had to squeeze three people into our two person tent, which also happened to be on a slight incline. Needless to say, Whitney, Sonny, and I didn’t get much sleep at all. I got out of the tent as soon as the sun was up and enjoyed some reading in the cool stillness.

After breakfast we headed out on our hike. What was supposed to be a 6 mile hike turned into at least an 8 mile hike with all the back tracking we had to do due to unclear signs. The first half was all downhill, and at the bottom we happened upon a small waterfall. We got in the cold water to cool off and re-energize for the last half of the hike, which was all uphill. I honestly thought I wasn’t going to make it to the end and (not ashamed to admit it) almost started crying near the top. 5 1/2 hours later, we made it, and even though I thought the end would never be in sight, I feel accomplished for having completed the hike (not like I had a choice in the matter…unless I wanted to be stranded in the forest).

We were so beat from the hike, that after cleaning up we lounged around and napped for a while. We had an early dinner and played some cards before making some more s’mores and heading to bed. Sonny wanted to sleep in the bed of the truck that night, and we all got a great night’s sleep. The next morning we made a quick stop to check out Hume Lake before heading home, which took us longer than expected due to traffic and a hillside fire on the way. That night we grabbed dinner and ice cream with Sonny before dropping him off at the airport to head back to Texas.

We hadn’t been camping in over four years, so I’m so happy we made this trip. We had a wonderful time, and the forest was just beautiful. We learned a couple of things that we’ll make sure we are prepared for on our next trip, but overall, it couldn’t have gone better.

Obsessed with the forest at sunrise.

Whitney: first with his miniature walking stick…then with his sword fighting. I should also mention that he forgot to wear his belt, and then his pants’ button fell off. He made due with a make-shift twig belt. Crafty.

Really random skate camp at the edge of the forest.

Whitney’s “lost in the wilderness” look.

Giant pine cones.

Ella Falls.

Hume Lake.

The burning trees on the way home. Fortunately it didn’t look like there were any homes in close proximity, and the fires were getting contained.

Camping is such a fun summer activity, and I’ve been wanting to go the past few summers. So happy to cross this off my summer bucket list!

-wonderland sam