I Hiked the Narrows Again, October 2017 Version

TBH, the experience isn’t trite or cliche for having done it two years in a row now. OTOH, blogging about it kind of is (2016 Narrows hike, and that one previous that was pre-blog) .

So what made this one different?

  • 2017 is a different year than 2016, and I am much wizened.
  • It’s colder in October. Especially on the second day, after the swim. (Note to self: take clothes off prior to the swim next time.)
  • Fall color!
  • Mice at the campground.
  • Non-relative as co-hiker.
  • Overcrowded shuttle full of trust-fund kids all the way to the trailhead.
  • Still kind of too many people for the last four miles, despite it being a Monday.
  • I don’t remember what my pack weighed, but it was not very much (19 lbs.?).
  • My favorite compact camera got destroyed on this trip. In another $400, will replace. Maybe.

Most of these photos are mine, but one is Layton’s, used with eventual permission and editing. Overall, his photos were way better. Perhaps I shouldn’t bemoan my camera as much as my lack of vision and mindfulness.

(King of the trust-funders, front-left.)

And my favorite, now-dead camera’s last-ever photo:

Goal for next time: Don’t take a camera, live in the moment, maybe write a haiku at the end. Also, be prepared for mice.

bkd