A February Backpack

Being from the northwest, a backpacking trip in February is a bit of a novelty. It can be done, but it takes quite a bit of luck for things to line up correctly, at least for a trip that isn’t a complete sufferfest.

It’s been a little hard to pick up the habit of winter backpacking now that we live in Southern California. Of course you still can’t be hiking in alpine country with glaciated peaks and high alpine lakes, but there’s still good stuff experience and places to explore. It’s actually the best time of year to do some trips since the summer can be so unbearably hot for many areas, but for some reason we just haven’t been utilizing the year-round opportunities. I’ve been regretting that quite a bit, so this year I’ve been trying to make better use of the climate.

This past weekend, we did a mildly impromptu backpacking trip up Noble Canyon. I’ve hiked the trail many times, and I’ve always thought that a certain spot along the trail would make a great place to spend the night.

We enjoyed a beautiful day on Saturday. For our hike out on Sunday, things turned a bit cold and wet. We even saw some snow mixed in with the rain when we peered out of the tent when we woke up. Luckily, we only had a five-mile hike back to the car.