Camping Disaster

I went backpacking/camping with my crew in Yosemite this past weekend. You can read Michael's rendition of the trip on his blog, so I won't go into a whole lot of detail in terms of time line.

Reasons why we are not as "soft" as Matthew likes to think:

• It was forecasted to be over 90 degrees (high)
• We started the hike between 1pm and 2pm, meaning we hiked during the hottest hours of the day
• Air was smoky and hazy from the Yosemite fires
• Terrain was very rocky and mostly uphill
• Distance came out to ~9.7 miles (first day) according to Reid's GPS device, including all the backtracking we did from going in the wrong direction.
• We were carrying very heavy camping backpacks
• Most of us ran out of water approximately halfway through
  

Reasons why I'm never ever doing that again:

• Almost died from exhaustion.
• Almost died from dehydration.
• Almost died from being eaten by a bear.
  

Other reasons why I did not have an awesome trip:

• Having to hike back the next day
• Needing to use a trowel to bury "waste" at least 6 inches deep
• Sleeping like sardines in a tent while being very hot and uncomfortable
• Getting 7 mosquito bites, 5 of which are on my face, 4 of which are on my forehead. I look almost as bad as Dan and you can connect the bites on my forehead to make an annoyingly nice rectangle.

What made it sorta worth it (but not really)?

• Michael offering his life savings for a Pepsi.
• Michael fashioning a pair of shorts by cutting up his jeans.