The gang eats a burrito.

This weekend I went on my first backpacking trip on Roan Mountain; part of the Appalachian Trail.  A lot of planning and preparation went into the trip. We met twice throughout the week prior to leaving.

Jessa is the backpacking expert and she bought all the supplies and food. Our food for the weekend included: Wine (very important), GORP (equally as important), freeze dried ice cream, oatmeal, fruit leathers, frustration jolly ranchers, beef jerky, and cliff bars. 

We set out on Friday night after work and got to the mountain about 10pm. It was really foggy, but we hiked 3 miles that night until we came upon a good place to camp. 

Here we are as we started out - told you it was foggy! 

My sexy headlamp...as much fun as I made of these headlamps, they really are essential if you plan on hiking in the dark. Found that out the hard way. 

After an oatmeal and coffee breakfast, we started out bright and early on Saturday morning. The trail was beautiful. 

The gang with Hump Mountain in the background. This mountain never ends - it felt like a constant climb upward. 

Brandon and I show our frustration faces. 

This trip was definitely not without its amateur frustrations.  I'd love to report that it was all fun, but there were certainly parts of the trip that were rough. The hiking itself is hard work, its amazing how adding weight to your back and a giant hill can wear you out. 

Now, imagine that you just got done climbing the mountain (and only had to have 2 frustration jolly ranchers on the way up) and all you want to do is relax and eat your lunch. Then...picture bees buzzing all over it and your puppy lunging for your sandwich and snatching it up. I had to take a little timeout at that point. 

After that breakdown we napped -- which was nice (but lead to some pretty nice sun burns). But then we ventured on down the mountain in search of a place to camp. Well that presented its own challenge as we encountered some treacherous rocky trail...I was about ready to call it quits at this point. 

However, I made it through that and we found the perfect campsite shortly after. Then came the best part -- we got to eat the freeze dried ice cream and drink our wine in celebration! 

I want to leave you with a few important things I learned while backpacking: 

• GORP (Good Old Raisins and Peanuts OR Granola Oatmeal Raisins and Peanuts...take your pick)  tastes really good on a hike break
• If you're hiking up a hill and find yourself getting a little frustrated, pop a jolly rancher in your mouth
• The best campsite includes big rocks to set your pack on and plenty of tree cover
• Even though they aren't all that sexy, high top hiking boots are important for those slippery rocks
• The best parts of backpacking are the views, good friends, hard work and eating at a wonderful restaurant after you leave the trails

Burritos in Boone after a great weekend of backpacking :)

We even stopped along the Blue Ridge Parkway on the way home to see the great views: