Backpacking

Meg's medical life revolves around infusions every 2 weeks,  rounds of chemotherapy / doctor & physicians' assistant visits every 4 weeks and MRI's 2 months out of 3 (don't ask!). This last week she had NO medical appointments, the weather finally improved, Andrew got his teeth-cleaning rescheduled, and we got to go off on a backpacking trip, precisely 8 months after she was admitted to the hospital.

We drove to near a pass about 75 miles east of Seattle for a 2 night stay in the wilderness area. It was midweek and we saw very few people. It was a good first trip as there were 2 lakes on the trail: we aimed for the further & higher one, but were happy to stop at the nearer one when it became clear that the 2,000 foot elevation gain with the packs was all that we were up for. As we approached Surprise Lake, a forest ranger appeared (as if by magic) and led us to the most wonderful campsite on the shore of the lake.

The next day was gorgeous, we were fully recovered, and we greatly enjoyed a not too strenuous hike up Surprise Mountain, which we'd been admiring from our tent door! We had a relaxed, and solitary, lunch on top, admired all the surrounding mountains, and returned to our tent in time for dinner. Meg had fun playing with her Buff head-scarf, finding imaginative ways to keep the voracious and numerous msoquitos at bay. 

On the 3rd day we packed up and hiked back to the car: we both greatly enjoyed the trip and were relieved that Meg was able to do so well, despite her ongoing chemotherapy. We're now deciding where to go and what to do in the next medical-free week in a couple of weeks.

You can see some pictures on this Facebook album.