Summer Hiking Plans

In the past few years hiking has become one of my favorite hobbies. I love disconnecting from real life and escaping to nature for a little while. The peace and quiet puts me at ease and the smell of the trees makes me happy. Taking a hike is the perfect thing to do to clear your mind and decompress. I started by taking day hiking trips on the weekends with my husband Steve. We started exploring nearby trails more extensively and tried ones we’ve never been to. I love the excitement of seeing a new place and discovering a new trail. I’m always in it for the views and love when a hike takes me to a jaw dropping vista point or a waterfall. The hike always seems so worth the effort to get there if you are rewarded at the end.

Now that spring is in full swing it’s time to get back out there and put some more miles on my hiking boots! Last year I was recovering from my bilateral mastectomy, salpingo-oophorectomy, and my implant exchange surgeries and I was stuck inside not able to do much. I was dreaming of the day when I could get back out to the mountains. Knowing I wanted to backpack for the first time this summer I made sure to keep up with my daily workouts to build my strength and push my physical limits. I’ve kicked off the spring hiking season with several day hikes to surrounding northern California destinations. So far this year I have hiked the Marin Headlands, Hedge Creek Falls, Mossbrae Falls, Table Mountain, Upper Bidwell, Bald Rock, Burney Falls and Castle Crags. I set a goal for myself to explore as many new trails this summer and check some trails off on my bucket list and so far I’m well on my way. I plan to do another post highlighting some of these local trails and give you all the details so you can check them out for yourself!

I also committed to going on my first backpacking trip ever! I love to camp and I love to hike but I’ve never combined the two. While recovering from my surgeries last year I started watching You Tube videos of women through hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and became infatuated with the idea. I then started buying book after book detailing the 2,650 mile journey. I decided that when I was recovered from all my surgeries I was going to learn how to backpack and one day attempt the Pacific Crest Trail.

I began collecting all the items I would need for a backpacking trip throughout last year and my pack is almost complete. I decided I didn’t want to go solo, especially as a beginner so I joined a Facebook page for women who hike in Northern California. Through that group I connected with a few other women in the same situation as me- new to backpacking and wanting to go but also wanting to meet some hiking buddies to go with. A few seasoned women backpackers reached out and offered to lead a beginning women’s backpacking trip to help us all prepare and have a successful first trip. These wonderful women put together Zoom meetings to show us what to bring, how to pack our packs, what kind of food to bring, went over permits, fire safety, and gave us so much valuable knowledge. I quickly committed and the trip is set for the end of June in the Tahoe National Forest. I’m so thankful for these women to take the time to pass on what they have learned and their knowledge onto us so that we can have the confidence to get out there. I’m so excited for this trip and look forward to sharing all of the details of my very first backpacking trip with you!

Another trip I have tentatively planned in mid July is a 2 night backpacking trip with my Dad to the Bucks Lake Wilderness. I had been telling my Dad all about my dreams of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and one day he offered to hike some of it with me so we made it a plan and this summer we’re making it a reality. We will be hopping on the Pacific Crest Trail and following it up above Bucks Lake to the top of Spanish Peak and then looping back down and around. We plan to follow that trip up with a 5 night adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail through Lassen National Park. We’ll be hiking a total of 42 miles and will end in the town of Old Station. This will be such a great experience for my Dad and I to have together and I’m looking forward to the adventure.

After those three backpacking trips Steve and I are taking a week long vacation to Yosemite National Park! At the beginning of the year we discussed what 2021 would look like and we ultimately decided to take a break from our seasonal lakeside trailer spot. After the cumulative amount of medical expenses we had last year due to my bilateral mastectomy, salpingo-oophorectomy and implant exchange, we decided we should take a year to recoup our bank account. Since we no longer had our summer booked up I told Steve we should at least take one week off to explore somewhere new with our trailer so we both agreed on Yosemite. We’ve lived in California our entire lives but have never been to Yosemite. I booked us a trailer spot at an R.V. resort with full hookups right next to a river. The entrance to the park is a short drive so we plan to get up early and drive into the park each morning. Of course I already have our days planned with all the must do hikes and waterfalls in the park. I’m looking forward to experiencing the magnificent beauty of Yosemite and creating new memories with my husband.

This summer is looking to be pretty awesome and I can’t wait to see how much I learn and grow. I’m so anxious to get my first backpacking trip under my belt and I think it’s going to be a life changing trip. I’m looking forward to making new friends and new connections in the outdoors and sharing all of my experiences and tips with you! Thanks for following along my journey!