For my first actual backpacking trip, I decided to go somewhere nearby where I could easily get a reservation. I also wanted a short hike and somewhere that had a somewhat developed campground. The most convenient place I found that met these criteria was the black mountain backpack camp in montebello open space preserve.
Making a reservation was easy, you just need to apply for a permit online and there was plenty of availability. I picked a weekend not too far into the future and planned to head out. In the days leading up, I noticed that the weather forecast had shifted to rain. Since my last trip had also been in rain, I figured I'd be fine.
On the day of, I drove down and parked in the lot. I noticed some other people hiking in with packs as well, which made me feel like I wasn't so crazy. The hike was short but nice. Since the weather was pretty bad, I didn't get the normal panoramic views but it was nice in its own way. (pic)
Once I got there, I quickly made camp, fired up my stove, and made some tea. I wanted to make sure I took advantage of the time before it started raining. I walked up to the summit as I remembered very nice views, but I couldn't see much with the clouds.
It started raining pretty early, maybe around 4pm, so I was stuck in my tent after that. I had brought lots of stuff to read so I wasn't worried about entertainment, I just relaxed and enjoyed the sound of the rain on my tent.
As the night went on, it started getting very windy. It turns out I had made a mistake in setting up my rainfly and hadn't tied it out correctly. This unfortunately caused the tent to deform which allowed the fly to slip off to the side and let some rain in. When it started happening I should have just gone out and fixed it but I was hoping the wind would pass. All in all it made for a pretty uncomfortable night.
In the morning, luckily, the rain let up pretty early so I was able to take down my tent and pack up. I quickly left since I wanted to get back before it started raining again. The hike out was really nice. (pic)