Well, I am now back, and very sore and sunburned. Of course, not as sunburned as Sarya, but still slightly fried.

I'm sure nobody missed me, but you are all going to get a somewhat detailed story of our trip.

Wednesday: We got up at 4:20a.m. after staying up until 12:00 a.m. We hit the road at about 5:30 a.m. and north to the Wind Rivers. It took us about six hours to get there, and since I was asleep most of the time (hey, four hours of sleep will do that to a person), I don't remember much of the ride. I DO remember, however, that the sunrise was simply AWESOME. The sun was a firey red ball in the sky as it reflected off of the clouds. That was in Evanston, Wyoming. We ate breakfast at the Village Inn about 8:00 a.m. in Rock Springs, Wyoming. I had French Toast. Yummy. I slept some more, and we finally got to Big Sandy Trailhead, where we set out at about 11:00 a.m. or so.

About half-way there (it's a six mile hike), I pulled a muscle in my leg and had to hike the rest of the three miles as the pain slowly, but surely, worsened. I finally took some IB profin about fifteen minutes from the lake. When we got to Big Sandy (it took me three hours,
though some of the others took less time to get there), we set up camp and hung out. We fished a lot, and had a good time.

Thursday: Not much happened, but we did hike to Black Joe Lake. That is to say, some of us did...my cousin Brad, Don (yes, Ticia's honey-bunny came with us, though Ticia stayed behind), my dad, and I hiked there and did some fishing. Don made a sling and was throwing rocks into the lake when one got a little close to some guys that were fishing. They yelled at us, using some fairly bad language and threatening to "come over there". We found out later that they were with a Boy Scout Troupe. What great examples! I thought. We hiked back to Big Sandy, and yes, by the time I got back to camp, my leg was on fire. Don't ask me why I decided to go on the hike, because I really don't know.

Friday: My Dad, Sarya, and my cousin Brad hiked to the Circ (sp?) of the Towers, a BEAUTIFUL view of Pingora Mountain. The Circ is a very popular place to go Rock Climbing, but it is a very difficult hike. As my leg was still hurting, I decided to stick around (I had been to the Circ before and knew that I was not up to the hike, not with my leg, anyway) and rest as I was going to have to hike out the next day with a strained muscle. Don, my uncle Gary, and my brother Tim stuck around, played frisby, and took a nap. Not much else happened that day.

Saturday: We hiked out in tw hours and fifteen minutes (well, I did, and Don and my Dad), while my leg was okay MOST of the way out (it did start hurting about a mile from the trailhead). Then we drove home, stopping at Subway in Rock Springs for some lunch.

There you have it. Backpacking with Mia. It was a good time, though I am sunburned and sore.

Mi"the great adventurer? Ha!"a