Attack of the Mosquitoes

This last week I was almost eaten alive by mosquitoes, and came to seriously fear the loss of blood I was incurring.....well not exactly but pretty close. I spent the last week in the Windriver Mountain Range of Wyoming on a backpacking trip with my dad, four uncles, and ten cousins. A summer trip to the Windrivers is a family tradition started when my dad was growing up. Grandpa would take all the boys once they turned 7 or 8, and they went most years of growing up. The tradition continued until 1992 when Grandpa's health kept him from being able to go. Then in 2002 they started the tradition again and took some of their boys in. The next year us girls insisted on being included and so I got to go. This summer was my third trip into the Windrivers, and by far the hardest hike in.

We hiked 12-13 miles in to the Cook Lakes. But it was all worth it. I am especially grateful that I have such a supportive and loving family so that we all got into camp safely. Special thanks to my Uncle Curtis for sticking with me the whole hike in and out, and to my cousin Megan for coming and taking my pack for me when we got lost and they had to find us and show us where camp was. I couldn't' have made it in without them. And without my dad who has always helped to believe that I can do it, and encouraged me to believe in myself.

This year the mosquitoes were all over the place, and the nights were cold enough to leave a frost in the morning. But it was all worth it because the fish were biting, the company was the best I could ask for, and the surrounding nature was beautiful. There is something about the Windrivers that offer you peace, and a closeness to God because you are up in his mountains.

Just to give you some details of the trip, I caught 41 fish in the three days I fished, climbed down the rocks by the side of a waterfall(this took an hour) got probably between 150 and 300 mosquito bites, ate oatmeal for breakfast every morning (I don't like oatmeal and only eat it in the Windrivers) swam in a lake with water that was coming from snow patches and glaciers, got scared half to death by a dear during a midnight bathroom trip, saw a badger hole, purified water every day, washed dishes in a pan over a camping stove, sunburned my bottom lip,and spent many fun nights with family around the campfire. There really isn't a way to describe a Windriver Trip to someone who hasn't been there and have them understand. But I'll tell you, the pain you suffer in carrying a backpack weighing between 40 and 70 pounds for miles in the mountains is all worth it.