We had only been married for a few months before we decided that we needed to go camping. I went camping almost every summer weekend as a kid and Jake went on endless family camping trips + all of those scouting adventures. Between the two of us we were pros.
It wasn’t until we were setting up camp in the cold American Fork Canyon that we realized we had forgotten pillows, toilet paper, cards, blankets, and we had only brought one sleeping bag. Seriously. It was October. We almost forgot the tent and we didn’t bring any padding to sleep on.
What a terribly cold night. We tried various activities trying to stay warm... but they all failed. The next morning we decided to go for a bike ride. We didn’t get but 20 feet before Jake’s tire went flat. You will never believe me, but we melted the hole back together with a lighter and pumped the tire back up. We went on a bike ride and found a great place to go rock climbing. At least we remembered the essentials: mountain bikes and rock climbing gear!
We went back to the tent, grabbed our gear, and went back to the rock. I was still frozen from the night before and decided that I would let Jake climb while I belayed him. Instead of top roping the climb, he decided to go for the challenge and lead climb. I had never belayed a lead climber but with a few instructions I was up to bat. For safety measures Jake even anchored me to a tree a few feet away because of the weight difference. He got ¾ up the climb and slipped…. causing me to be catapulted into another tree. What a mess. We got untangled and went home.
Time heals wounds. We decided it was time to try again and invited Jakes parents and little sisters for good measure and company.
Jake had planned this trip months ago but last week the weatherman gave bad news. Bad weather. Rain.... same old story around these parts. So we packed up several pairs of everything and set out for Honeyman Sate Park in Florence Oregon.
Thursday morning was the beginning of a new family tradition. A 6 hour drive with 7 people (and a huge outlet mall on the way) took 9 hours.
But the weather kept getting better and better the closer we got.
We got to camp just in time to make some dinner before it got too dark. (And you know those pictures that you take and hope no one ever sees them? Well here are some of them.)
With a blazing campfire and a starry sky we were excited for our reunion with camping.
It wasn’t until we were setting up camp in the cold American Fork Canyon that we realized we had forgotten pillows, toilet paper, cards, blankets, and we had only brought one sleeping bag. Seriously. It was October. We almost forgot the tent and we didn’t bring any padding to sleep on.
What a terribly cold night. We tried various activities trying to stay warm... but they all failed. The next morning we decided to go for a bike ride. We didn’t get but 20 feet before Jake’s tire went flat. You will never believe me, but we melted the hole back together with a lighter and pumped the tire back up. We went on a bike ride and found a great place to go rock climbing. At least we remembered the essentials: mountain bikes and rock climbing gear!
We went back to the tent, grabbed our gear, and went back to the rock. I was still frozen from the night before and decided that I would let Jake climb while I belayed him. Instead of top roping the climb, he decided to go for the challenge and lead climb. I had never belayed a lead climber but with a few instructions I was up to bat. For safety measures Jake even anchored me to a tree a few feet away because of the weight difference. He got ¾ up the climb and slipped…. causing me to be catapulted into another tree. What a mess. We got untangled and went home.
Time heals wounds. We decided it was time to try again and invited Jakes parents and little sisters for good measure and company.
Jake had planned this trip months ago but last week the weatherman gave bad news. Bad weather. Rain.... same old story around these parts. So we packed up several pairs of everything and set out for Honeyman Sate Park in Florence Oregon.
Thursday morning was the beginning of a new family tradition. A 6 hour drive with 7 people (and a huge outlet mall on the way) took 9 hours.
But the weather kept getting better and better the closer we got.
We got to camp just in time to make some dinner before it got too dark. (And you know those pictures that you take and hope no one ever sees them? Well here are some of them.)
With a blazing campfire and a starry sky we were excited for our reunion with camping.