It wasn’t supposed to be a marathon. It was supposed to “only” be 25.95 miles.
- In three days
- Climbing 3,853 feet in elevation
- With about 40 pounds on our backs
But in the end, it was more than the 26.2 miles for a marathon, closer to 28. Quite a bit over 4 thousand feet and all in a three-day backpacking trip. It wasn’t supposed to be an endurance challenge but due to a number of factors it became one. I would never do it again, but it was so amazing, both the experience and that we were able to finish it.
Day One, started out at Shingle Creek Trailhead. We had planned on camping at East Shingle Creek that night. The day started out great, but night was falling and we had to push through to get our camp setup.




Day Two, was so amazing. The views were so beyond what any picture could capture. But about half way through the day we realized we had to keep up a good pace to get to our camp site before night fall. So we enjoyed the views as we kept a good pace. Views is such a weak word for the majesty of it all.
We got to our final campsite, Long Lake, as a big storm was coming in. I have to say I was a bit scared. But we got our tent up really quick and were in side in no time. After a few minutes of resting, we realized the storm had gone a different direction and never hit us.







Day Three, we knew this was going to be the hardest day of them all with over 10 miles left. But I thought it shouldn’t be so bad as 80% of that was downhill. Well, at least the trail guides showed it being mostly down hill. It was down, then up and bit then, down some more, then up some more.
Then at the end when we were so exhausted it was this access road that just kept going and going. I felt like I was stuck in Groundhog Day.



I would never do that exact same trip again. It was way too much for just three days. We should have planned at least 4 days, or maybe even 5 to go at a reasonable pace and enjoy it all.
But I don’t regret going. It was so amazing. It was our first three day backpacking trip, all the others were just two days. Aside from it turning into a real endurance challenge, especially the last day, it was so amazing. I felt the beauty of it all mingling with my soul. I so loved it. And we learned so much; we learned what our limits are, we learned what not to do, we learned how amazing being deep in nature can be.
There is so much more to say and share, but I’m busy as alway and wanted to at least share a bit of what we did. Oh and we, we is my son and I. If anyone else out there is interested in joining on future trips let me know, maybe we can be three, or more.

Our Route