Alta Peak
Alta Peak Alta Peak This is a story about a big mistake-mine. One winter day, I did the wrong thing. I went backpacking alone in the mountains. To backpack is to hike or to go camping with a backpack on your back. Everything that you need must be in that pack or in the clothes you are wearing. I made some bad decisions that day. Luckily, I made one right choice at the right time. That right choice probably saved my life. Here is the story as it happened. I'll start from the beginning. I love
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Alta Peak
Alta Peak
This is a story about a big mistake-mine. One winter day, I did the wrong thing.I went backpacking alone in the mountains.To backpack is to hike or to go camping with a backpack on your back.Everything that you need must be in that pack or in the clothes you are wearing.
I made some bad decisions that day. Luckily, I made one right choice at the right time.That right choice probably saved my life. Here is the story as it happened.
I'll start from the beginning. I love to be outside, and I love to camp overnight in the wilderness.There are two ways people can camp overnight: car camping and backpacking.These are very different ways to be in the wilderness.
Many people camp by driving to a national park or forest with a car or truck full of camping equipment.They bring things such as coolers, large tents, lots of food, extra clothes, and charcoal grills.
Sometimes I enjoy that kind of camping. It's comfortable.If you camp where there are mountains, you can see the beautiful mountains and watch the stars.
Backpacking is a very different activity.You enter the world of the mountains and become part of it.You leave nothing but footprints on the trail and carry all of your trash out with you.A backpacker usually carries sixty pounds of supplies, or less.That means no cooler, no chairs, no boom box, and no charcoal grills.
Packing for a hike into the mountains requires careful planning and hard choices.Your pack must be as light as possible, because you have to carry it all yourself.Sleeping bags, tents, tiny gas stoves, water bottles, flashlight,and rain ponchos are made of the lightest possible materials.Usually, the big choice is between food and clothes.The more food you pack, the fewer extra clothes you can bring.Most of the food is dried. For example, you bring raisins, not grapes.
Whatever you do, remember to bring a buddy.A backpacking buddy is good for many reasons.A buddy can be helpful in case of an injury or an emergency.A buddy can also help you avoid bad decisions.Bad decisions hurt more hikers than grizzly bears or snakes do.After this backpacking trip when I broke this rule, I know that buddies are very important.I wish I had known this before I had set off for the California mountain called Alta Peak one day, alone.
It was an unusually warm January, even for southern California.It normally is quite cold in the mountains in winter, but the temperature that January was around 60 degrees.
The days were sunny, and there was less snow than usual.After a backpacking trip with a friend, we returned to his house in Los Angeles.He told me about the beautiful mountain meadows and crystal clear lakes up near Alta Peak.He made it sound so beautiful, I had to see it.
The next day I bought some camping food and packed my backpack.Then I asked my friend to drive me up to a hiking trail near Alta Peak.He did drive me even though he thought my hike was a bad idea.
I began by checking in at the forest ranger's office.It is customary to tell the ranger about your hiking plans.I told her that I planned to camp near Alta Peak for three nights.That way, the ranger would become concerned if I didn't report back in time.Then she would send out a search team. I picked up a trail map and headed for the trail.
