Hiking in Tombstone

Far be it from us to do something the logical expected way, that would be crazy talk. When toying with the notion of graduating from car camping to backcountry camping, most people take things easy, try a little over nighter, then maybe a two day trek. Not us. Flights where purchased and sites reserved deep in the backcountry of Tombstone Territorial Park, Yukon before we even had an idea what it would feel like to hoist a 40 pound pack onto our backs and then hike for 46 km up into the mountains.

The unknown was what made the trip special, in a terrifying “what the hell are we doing” kind of way. You know that feeling you get in a safety presentation while the instructor is telling you all the things that could go wrong while you are doing that crazy thing you signed up for? It felt like that, only that feeling never really stopped. Was that a bear? Is the wind going to blow our tent away? What if we physically can’t do it? What if one of us gets injured? What if we didn’t pack enough food?

The scared feeling never stopped, but was violently shoved to the side many times by the overwhelming joy and sense of accomplishment that came with standing on the top of a ridge after 2 hours of scrambling up hill. Nothing could bet the feeling as we looked out over the most incredible view any of us had ever seen.

The memory of those joyous experiences remains long after the fear of the unknown has faded away. We were left addicted, wanting to chase that high again and again.