Backpacking trip--day 1

Last Wednesday, two teachers  and 9 girls(whose ages ranged from 12-14) piled into a large white van and drove to the traildhead of the spider meadow loop trail(we were only going part way). Jenny and Lindsey are the names of the two teachers, and they were taking us backpacking. This was the third time in 2 years that they had taken girls from our school backpacking.

In the summer of 2009, there had been only one backpacking trip, and this summer there have been two. The second one was the advanced trip, and the one I am talking(or writing) about now.

So anyway, after 2 days of planning and gathering gear(that had been Monday and Tuesday), and a loooooond van ride during which we listened(and sang along) to: Lean on me, you've got a friend in me, imagine, fairytale, don't stand so close to me, hoedown throwdown, as we go on we remember, lets get down to business(played and sung very loudly), and many more, we were at the trail head.

We pulled our very heavy backpacks on to our backs, and then walked for five miles. The hike was beautiful and fairly easy, with many river crossings.

I did the same backpack trip last year with my family, and even though I'd seen the meadow before, its beauty was still astounding. The meadow is bowl shaped, and a mile across. All around the meadow there were peaks, some still with snow on them.  My description doesn't at all do the meadow justice, so hopefully I'll be able to find some pictures of it.

We decided on a campsite that in our opinion is the most beautiful one in the entire meadow. We had easy access to running water(not potable, but we had several water pumps), an amazing view, and enough room for our five tents.

It was nearly 5:00 pm when we got there, so after all the tents were put up, and the water bottles refilled, the group of three who was supposed to make dinner did so.
You see, we split up into groups of three, were given an extremely tight budget, and walked to Safeway to get food for the 2 meals each group was in charge of(I was in the breakfasts-for-both-days group).

Dinner was  Spanish rice with chicken, and couscous.
After dinner we stayed up talking until it was dark, and went to bed.

By the way, pictures and accounts of the next two days of backpacking are coming soon!!!!