Guys Night Out!!!

This weekend I went backpacking/camping up in the Alpine lakes area with two new friends from the Benson Hill Ward: Colton & Chris.

Colton & Chris

In order to sneak away on a Friday night of all nights, we had to agree that our wives (Jenni, Jen, & Jenny, how ironic) could get together and indulge in tasty food and to die for deserts at the Cheesecake Factory.

So, while they were being served on hot plates and later winding down to chick flicks and gossip, we the guys were hiking up the side of what seemed like Mt. Everest with enough gear to make sure we would survive a week, if the good chance that we got lost just happened to take place, eating our dehydrated powdered dinner with lake water that we were boiling to make sure we got rid of any bacteria that would cause us to be up all night ridding ourselves of any food that had enter our system in the past 48 hours.

And the wonderful thing about this Guys night out? We wouldn't have traded it for what our wives were being treated to for anything. We were as happy and content as a bunch of boys on their first Boy Scout outing.

After arriving at our destination and setting up the tent in the dark and warming our chilled insides with a watered down powder dinner, we slipped into our tent to enjoy a night sleeping on the ground.Chris supplied the 4 person mobile shelter, enough room so the three us didn't have to wake up too close to one another.

I'm not sure if I wanted to be up for the sunrise or if my body was just too sore after rolling from shoulder to shoulder all night. Maybe I was being kicked out for snoring, either way I ended up being up for the sunrise. It turned out to be a beauty.Grizzly Adams at 5:30 am

After some more powdery, watered down breakfast we took off on a small hike (this time without the packs) to view some more lakes. It was really pretty.

Colton & Chris soaking in the view above Rachel Lake.

Will on top of the world (or at least Rachel Lake)

Will falling off the top of the world (or at least pretending)

Pretty Flower

More Pretty Flowers

Lots of Pretty flowers (I must have been missing Jenni about now)

After our little day hike it was all down hill to the car. It's a lot easier hiking DOWN Mt. Everest, then UP it.

We stopped at some waterfalls.

Chris even found a hornets nest.

Lots of different Fungi

We made it back down to the car covered in dirt and sweat and enough outdoor memories to plaster smiles on our tired, overworked bodies only to realize we were the lucky ones who didn't get our window smashed in and car stripped of all valuables left inside. What a welcome back to reality other campers where going to get.

We then headed home, with the hopes of sympathy and compansion from our wives to nurse our wounded bodies back to health.

Awe, the perfect ending to a perfect guys night out! Thanks Chris & Colton!! We'll have to do it again next time the Jen's are craving gossip, chick flicks, and chocolate deserts!