Our 4th of July

It's been hot here in Germany. According to the National Weather Service Gold-Standard for temperature measurements (or in other words our $3 whistle/compass/thermometer from a general store), it has been close to 100 degrees several days in a row. There's no deodorant made for this heat.

 

 

Ignoring the weather, we set off on another practice hike on July 4th. This time our plan was to set up our tents and rough it for a night on the trail. Happy Independence Day indeed!

 

 

 

 

We have hiked several times increasing our mileage and our knowledge. We have learned what we should ditch out of our packs and what we should add. We wanted to make sure we were also ready for overnights.

 

 

 

 

Like any good planning team, at 11PM the night before, we were on the internet plotting our course and learned that it is illegal to "rough it" in Germany. Therefore we had to extend our research to find a place that rented campsites. "Roughing it" turned into picking a campground with cushy bathrooms and showers (insert eye roll). Never mind that when we were given the choice, we chose the campsite beside the restrooms.

 

 

 

 

With high hopes, we drove our loaded down minivan into the Black Forest to backpack and pretend to rough it.

 

 

 

At one point, it seemed the whole weekend was turning out to be a bust. For one thing, it was hot! The kids did not want to hike. Once we were there we could not find a trail so we just started walking through a town in full gear hoping to stumble upon a trailhead. Meanwhile, sunburn, stinging nettle, and exhaustion slapped us all in the face.

 

 

On one of our many breaks I sank down onto my backside, leaned back on my pack on the side of some German road, and turned into a puddle of sweat as my husband muttered for about the hundredth time "Bodes never quit." The next picture describes how I felt.

 

  (This is Grace faking death by humidity)

 

I had a critical decision to make. Finish the "hike" (ahem) with a good attitude or turn around. Since my determined husband had reminded me that Bodes never, EVER quit, I had to paste on a smile and keep moving. And I'm glad I did.

 

 

I think we pulled out a good time in spite of the monkey wrenches thrown into our day.

 

 

Plus, we camped beside a creek.

 

 

 

 

 

This picture is dark but I love it! My eldest son took our youngest son out to pee on a bush at 4 in the morning. Afterwards they sat in the grass and took in the surroundings, unaware that I was watching from my tent. They both got up and ran back into their tent.  As I heard them zip up the tent, I thought: "I'm glad we did this."

 

In spite of the heavy packs, sweltering heat, and all the last minute changes of plan we learned several valuable lessons and shared a weekend overflowing with memories as a family-and that was worth it.