Excelsior Ridge

After a fair amount of research, conversation and debating Ian and I decided a hike to Damfino Lakes would be just right for this pregnant lady. However, it doesn't take long to get to the lakes, at all. So we moved on to plan B, which was Canyon Lake, a small lake less than 1/2 mile from the trail, further along the same trail. It looked easy enough to get to, on the map, and it was so close! Turns out its harder to travel off trail pregnant than I had anticipated, the terrain was a little stepper than we thought it would be and the slopes were covered in slippery heather and false azalea. So, we moved on to plan C, which turned out to be a brilliant decision. Plan C was Excelsior Ridge. It was also pretty much the highest camping spot we could have chosen along the ridge, in true Rae form. The views were amazing, there were some pre-established camping sites, there was a strong breeze which deterred at least some of the biting flies and mosquitos and there was no one else up there. Oh, there was also a snow patch for Maddie to romp around in, Maddie loves the snow!

We both realized it may be the last "backpacking" trip before Squak makes his way into the world, I didn't have the most amazing nights sleep ever and honestly, it's a total pain in the ass to crawl out of the tent in the middle of the night to pee more than once! It was a great hike though and we're both already scheming and planning for Squak's first real backpacking trip.

Oh, almost forgot, the beer picture! Ian bought a six-pack before our last backpacking trip of Dales Pale Ale, from the Oskar Blues Brewery, and the plastic ring broke when he was carrying the beer into the house, which punctured a few of the cans (which are frankly expensive for canned beer). So Ian emailed them and someone came to the house and gave Ian nearly a case of Oskar Blues beer! Just thought I'd throw it out there, if your looking for good beer in cans for your next backpacking excursion (which is a strange new luxury for Ian, a result of the short pregnant lady hikes we've been doing) you might want to try something from Oskar Blues.