I’m hiking the Enchantments next month with my friends Ben and Melissa, so this past weekend Ben and I set out on a training hike to dial in our gear and gauge our readiness for the 3-day backpacking trip.

Spoiler: I’m going to die.

I mean… eventually. Probably not from the backpacking. This trip was nuts though. After spending the morning chatting and steady climbing up a fairly pedestrian trail, we came to this viewpoint.. High enough where we could see our destination, but far enough away that my soul almost left my body.

After doing the full out and back, I think the trip out across all that skree was slightly more harrowing than the return. But there were definitely a few scary parts with an almost 40-pound backpack and tired legs contributing to balance issues. But thank God for trekking poles, they probably saved my life.

We made camp around 12:20 and proceeded to spend the rest of the day just chilling, chatting, and admiring the view. It was the perfect way to disconnect from the tech world for a bit. While my body is still absolutely thrashed 2 days later, the views and the memories are priceless. Glad I got a few souvenirs: