Gradually Happy Camper
It is hot and humid. Why did I decide to go? Camping is fun, but I am definitely not used to it. I am in the mountains of Angeles National Rainforests, and it is fun when I am chillin,’ but cruel when I am asked to be active. This would have been a lot more fun if I had grown up to be more active.
The camp directors invited us to go hiking. It sound fun, but where are we supposed to trek to when we are already at a high altitude. The air is thin and I find it hard to catch my breath but I blame it on the heat. I along with the other campers decide to go without thinking that we would have to scale slippery edges that can send you to your doom, hike on steep areas that may become difficult on the way down, and the hot scorching sun that can leave us without a drop of water to rehydrate.
It started out manageable but after half an hour, we were told that we were a 1/4 done. The hike seemed to continue upward, and people started to get discouraged and returned back. I, along with some other friends decided to continue (why? I do not know). i was feeling up to the challenge, and we were headed for what the directors called “Strawberry Meadows,” and it sounded very scenic and pretty so I wanted to see it. As I continued to hike with the rest of the group, I started to fall behind from my friends. I was hot, red, and trying to ration my water because I had drank more than half at that point.
We passed what I thought was the meadow, but the directors didn’t point it out so we continued onward. After about an hour and a half, the directors decided to let us know that they were taking us further, but wanted us to return because trying to reach what they called “Strawberry Peak” was gonna take to long. Why did they not mention that earlier before I was half done with my water!?
So we walked back and I was honestly a bit scared of the steepness of the way down. And this is my hiking survival story. The reason I call it a survival story is because one of the fellow campers was telling me how they were impressed by how I challenged myself. I initially did not see it as such, but because I am not an outdoors person, I became impressed with myself too. Not that I don’t appreciate nature, but I usually do so in a more static way (picnics, pictures, short walks, etc.). This experience, though small, has helped me try new ways of appreciating things that I normally would not opt for.
