It has been a month now since I returned from my planned hike through section C, if you have been watching this space for updates. The hike was awesome and only gets more awesome in the rear-view mirror. I think I needed a month to digest the experience before writing this post.
First, I am thrilled I got to experience this with my wife, and astonished that this was her first overnight hike since I dragged her up Mount Golden Ears while we were dating. Yes, it took her 23 years to forgive me for that travesty. All I can say in justification was, I was a stupid 22 year old. I hope I am a better man today than I was then. Thankfully this trip went so much better than that one. It was a challenge for her to complete – thankfully, the preparation I had done meant that had anything gone wrong I would have had tons of reserve to get us out of the situation. But nothing did, and though there were occasional tears, they were only tears of fighting through her own limitations, not frustration with me.
We set a fairly easy pace, which turned out to still be faster than many we met in the backcountry. I also adjusted the itinerary on the fly, both to ensure we didn’t burn out, and to deal with terrain challenges I could not have foreseen in the planning stage. I think I will post this trip report in two-day pairs, to break down everything for posterity, in case others who want to tackle this section want more detail. Certainly, we scoured the internet before we left so we could prepare. Hope this helps.
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