- Expedition: Oct 19-24, 2008
- Evelyn
- Pajaro Valley HS
- Sequoia National Park. Emerald and Pear Lakes.
Today when we left the campgrounds I knew it was going to be hard. But never in my life did I think it was going to be that hard. Once I put my backpack on and started walking I was like OMG this is going to be impossible for me. Once were were on our first sit-down break I said to myself what have I gotten myself into. But after lunch it was ok; the challenge for me was going uphill but when you see all the views we were able to see it was really all worth it.
Wilderness to me is beauty, peacefulness. It means to be in touch with mother nature, to hear the animals, to forget even for a bit about your daily routine. To learn to let go and enjoy the natural beauty that our mother earth has to offer us. Wilderness is a place away from everything from civilization, a place where you can look up at the sky and see thousands of stars. To me my wild place would be anywhere where I can go sit down and listen to hear natural sounds that our busy lives don't allow us to hear. What makes this place special to me is how much I grew as a person in the past few days. At first its hard to let go of your life of technology, of even other people, but once you adapt to the idea that you are not going to have those things for a few days it's even better—you enjoy life more. I think that being in the backcountry for a few days has made me respect, love and appreciate mother nature more than before. I want these places to be kept the same for future generations.
The WildLink experience is wonderful. At first when we were coming to the backcountry that hike uphill was really hard. There were times along the way when I felt like crying and going back to Watsonville but I kept telling myself just a bit more. After a few minutes we would get to an amazing view point where we would stop for a moment and for that moment I felt like I was at the top of the world--that I could do anything I set my mind to.
