#6 - Backpacking Trip

I love hiking, and there are so many beautiful destinations in the Pacific Northwest! Two of my friends had never been overnight backpacking before, so I took them on an easy 3-mile round trip hike last summer. It took a bit of preparation and planning, but we had a blast. This year, we decided to continue the tradition!

Pratt lake is located in the central Cascades, slightly west of Eastern Washington. It has an elevation gain of 1530 feet and is a whopping 11 miles round trip. There are tons of streams and bridges to cross over on the way to the lake, and a few amazing views. Once we got about eight miles in, the trail started a steep decline into switchbacks. The entire time down the mountain, I was thinking, "Crap, I'm going to have to climb back up this tomorrow..." Luckily, it soon evened out as we started walking along a huge rocky mountainside. By this time, we could see the lake, but it was only a teaser seeing as we still had another couple miles to go.

Finally, we reached the lake, and it was beautiful! We set up camp, explored the area, and then started making dinner. Little did we know, our box of noodles needed milk and butter, but water made a decent substitute. And let's face it, I would've ate anything after six miles of hiking! After devouring some s'mores and hanging all our food up in a tree, my warm sleeping bag was like heaven on earth.

Although the hike back up those switchbacks was grueling, it's worth it for the sense of accomplishment you feel when you reach the trail head once more. Time to start planning for next year!

Video coming soon! It's all edited, but I'm just hashing out some technical difficulties in the exporting process. Stay tuned!

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