PINEDALE / HOBACK

after leaving vedauwoo, wyoming, we headed off for hoback, wyoming. about 45 minutes before hoback is a city called pinedale. we stopped at this general store in this town probably about 3 or 4 times on this trip. we loved this town because everyone was dressed in traditional native american attire or cowboy attire. it was a strange town. and the best part was their town motto: "All the civilization you need." if they don't have it, you dont need it :) great town, lots of character, lots of laughing.

hoback is where we pulled off the side of the road, hiked up a steep approach, and then climbed away on this bick rock formation called "the sheild". two of the climbs had major over hangs, and it was a ton of fun. we saw the sun coming down from up there, and it was amazing.

about 10 minutes from the climb site was granite creek, which is the campground we stayed in. after climbing, we all went to the river where, on the other side of this 30 ft wide snow melt river, was a hot spring. all 15 of us crossed the freezing cold river to the hot spring, which turned out to be the size of a bathtub. 15 people in a bathtub sized hot spring is quite an experience... we got close. oh, and the waterfall that the river flows from is the waterfall that brad pitt (or his dummy) goes over in the movie "a river runs through it." fun stuff.

the next morning we woke up and had amazing pancakes (with cranberries, choco chips, and granola in them) and then prepared for our backpacking trip. we did the duffle shuffle and minimalized everything we would carry in out packs. i personally had hardly anything. as far as clothes go, beside what i was already wearing, one tshirt, one longsleeve thermal, one pair of shorts, 1 rain pant, 1 fleece jacket, i rain jacket. they are all stuffed in that little green bag you see. then i brought a book, my journal, my chacos (sandals), hat, mug, headlamp, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad. then i was also given my share of the food and group gear to carry. my pack weighed between 35 and 40 pounds. not too bad, seeing how the majority of the weight was the group gear and my water.