Hi guys - I wanted to get your stories on engagements or weddings or divorces that you know of that involved backpacking/wilderness camping etc. Any good ones? Mother-in-law eaten by Grizzly? Best man fallen into ravine? Girlfriend refusing proposal and having to hike for another 60 miles in awkward silence together? Engagement ring stolen by squirrels? Soon-to-be-ex-husband trying to tie you to a tree?
Cheers,
Sven

Edited by svenklingemann on 04/09/2008 12:39:51 MDT.

Well, there's the Wilberforce Falls Affair

Hmmm, for some reason it's not letting me create that link, maybe this TINY URL will work?

Edited by jcolten on 04/09/2008 12:29:25 MDT.

How about divorce? My first wife and I were having marital problems that I felt/hoped could be resolved with a nice week long backpacking trip into the Idaho wilderness. Between the pre-ultra light equipment era pack weights, overly vicious horse flys and a few crippling blisters I could have not been more wrong. Needless to say, by the time we returned to the trail head we both knew that divorce was inevitable.

Ooops - I'll add that category as well (and this from a divorced man ...) Lol

I am thrilled when I return home from a hike that my wife did not change the locks.

Thom - sorry to hear about it (hopefully life has been better since) I could not help but chuckle though ... backpacking and carrying/assembling resilient furniture is probably part of the ultimate relationship test and can put a strain on very good relationships ... so when it comes to the more problematic ones ... I am unfortunately not surprised! Thank God I met my GF on a backpacking trip!! Lol
S.

I've long felt that low grade whitewater canoing (class I-II) was a stronger contender for the title of The Ultimate Relationship Test.

It worked for us.

My husband proposed to me on a sea stack on the Olympic Coast at sunset :-)

And yes, I said yes ;-)

We got married outside but not in the wilderness. While we had a small and very laid back wedding (married in a botanical garden then having an all-you-can-eat BBQ spread in the park next door on the lake), we didn't do a backcountry wedding due to others not being able to make it in.

We went to Yellowstone and the Tetons with the kid afterwards.

Worked for us!

Our first date off campus was to go caving in a wet and muddy upstate New York limestone cave.

Our first backpacking trip was in the middle of a blizzard, had to drive 150 miles north into the Adirondacks, full heavy winter packs including snow shoes and X-C skiis, 12 degrees below zero F at night. This was her very first backpacking trip!

She loved it. We got married while I was in graduate school. We went hiking in the Adirondacks for our honeymoon.

On our 25'th wedding anniversary, we and our three college-age kids hiked the Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier for almost two weeks. Last year it was a week in the White Mountains. This fall two weeks on the AT in Virginia.

And if we ever can save up the money (three kids in college!), we want to do a week in the Grand Tetons, and the PCT in Washington state. And when I retire (sigh...) perhaps the entire AT, and maybe more of the PCT, and ...

We recently purchased kayaks for when we cannot get out hiking.

Edited by ewolin on 04/09/2008 15:02:27 MDT.

Do day trips count? Mr. B and I were married almost 5 years to the day at Lake Valhalla. We snowshoed in with three friends - one served as preacher (online certified) and the other 2 were witnesses. I packed in a wedding dress - a Victorian thing that could tolerate scrunching in the pack. I changed behind a tree. My ice axe was my bouquet. My boots finished off the look quite nicely. During the ceremony we could hear an avalanche rolling off Lichtenberg. A good time was had by all.