I went on my first backpacking trip without help from anyone else on Friday the 15th, March, 2024. I went alongside my Boy Scout troop 845. Here is everything I packed:

• 1 two person backpacking tent
• 1 20 degree Fahrenheit sleeping bag.
• 1 inflatable mattress made by a brand named Nemo
• 1 warm jacket
• 1 rain jacket 
• 1 pair fresh underwear
• 1 pair fresh quick dry socks
• 2 teriyaki meat sticks
• 1 small bag of beef jerky
• 1 small bag of wood smoked sausages 
• 3 small bagels
• 1 small salad 
• 1 small bag of Trolli gummy worms
• 2 small bags of trail mix
• 1 bag of dehydrated Chicken Alfredo Pasta made by Peak
• 2 liters of water
• 1 headlamp
• 1 inflatable pillow
• 1 yo-yo glove (I honestly don’t know how that got in there)
• 1 Swiss Army Knife
• 1 First Aid Kit
• Toothpaste and a Toothbrush 
• 1 box of emergency matches 
• 1 Stovetop
• 1 propane canister 
• 1 titanium pot made by my dad
• 1 long spoon also made by my dad
• 1 small container of electrolyte hydration tablets
• 1 rock with mica

In total, the pack weighed 23 pounds at the star and weighed 19 pounds after the trip.

We started off with just 1 mile of hiking to the first stop on the trail. It was very small and could not fit every tent in it, even everyone shared one. This eventually led to me having to sleep on the trail 100 meters away from the shelter. Sleeping that night was horrible because of the other kid sleeping with me. We snored and sleep talked so much that I could not fall asleep. When I woke up, we were told we had to hike up a mountain for five miles to get to the next stop. The only things I ate for breakfast were two meat sticks.

The next stop was next to a big waterfall. We ate lunch and took photos of everyone sitting in front of the waterfall. For lunch, I ate a small salad and the two bagels that I packed for breakfast and lunch.  Lunch was the third most refreshing thing of the trip.

At the campsite, we were told we had to do several things; set up our tents, do a trash sweep, and do our hour of service to the park. Setting up the tent and the trash sweep were alright but the service though… We had to clean out the fire ring and use the dirt to cover the privy. If you don’t know what a privy is, it is just like a latrine with almost no privacy. Covering the privy with dirt was not only stinky, but we had to carry the dirt on rusted boards and walk for 5 minutes to reach the privy. Once you have dumped your dirt, you still have to walk the 5 minutes back to camp. We also had to use the boards to try to make a barrier for slightly more privacy. The walls were destroyed by the wind.

Dinner came a few hours later after our service. Our plan for dinner was to boil water and pour it into the food and walk the 5 minutes it needs to cook itself. We reached the cliff where we planned to eat dinner. We all sat on rocks except for a friend who sat on the edge of the cliff. “I like to live my life on the line,” he said. We planned to have dinner with the sunset but we were a few minutes early with the end of the meal. When I returned to camp, there was a fire in the fire ring so I sat down and smoked smoked sausages.

The next morning, we all woke up at six in the morning and ate a quick breakfast consisting of bagels, beef jerky, and smoked smoked sausages. We had to pack up everything, do a trash sweep, and eat breakfast in one hour. We went a few minutes overtime but it did not matter that much. We left camp at about 7:10 in the morning and headed downhill. We passed the 2 mile mark in 50 minutes. The rest of the trip back to the cars was fast and we did not stop as much.

When we got back to the cars, we had to load up and say a few things about the trip.  The trip back in total was about 2.99 hours long excluding breaks. We ate lunch at a restaurant called CookOut.

The trip was fun with little incidents in between. I would rate this trip an 8/10 and I would go again.