Girls' Backpacking Trip

Last April, I wrote about a weekend away at a cabin with some of my girlfriends.  We enjoyed ourselves so much that we decided to make it an annual event.

And since we all love the outdoors, we decided to make this year's weekend a light backpacking trip.  

We gathered at my friend Beth's beautiful home on Friday night and enjoyed some delicious food and cocktails. I invited my sister-in-law to join us, and I'm so happy she came along.  She fits in seamlessly with this group of women.  I just adore her. 

We woke up on Saturday and packed up. 

And then we hit the trail. We did a small section of the River to River trail in the Bald Knob Wilderness in the Shawnee National Forest. It was perfect.  The wildflowers were starting to bloom, and we couldn't have asked for better weather.

Between the 7 of us, there were some excellent map reading skills. 

We had a fun water crossing and then set up camp along the creek.

We built a raging fire and settled in for the night.

And we ate the most delicious camp meal I've ever had!  

We stayed up late into the night gathered around the fire.  And then spent much of the next day lounging at our campsite.  We didn't actually start hiking the next day until 2:30.  We definitely would have stayed another night if we could!

I just adore these women. Spending time with them is good for my soul, and I always come away a better person. I am so grateful to be blessed with these soul sisters.  And with my hectic schedule recently, it was really nice to get away and spend some quiet time in the woods. 

And have I mentioned my SIL?  She's the best.  I'm so grateful to have her in my life.  

I'm already looking forward to our next trip.  I'm thinking that maybe our girls' weekend needs to happen more than once a year!

xoxo