hiking

Catskill Vibe

Outdoor Adventure

Recently, I’ve been spending more time in the Catskill Mountains of southeastern New York State. It’s the closest drive I can think of that will get me to a mountainous region with a 3,000+ foot elevation. I would imagine that folks from the upper west coast would chuckle at that number. Well, these mountains may not be as tall as the ones out west, but they have their own unique beauty and vibe. According to geologists, these mountains are a result of uplift and erosion. The process that formed these mountains is different from the process that formed most other mountains, which involves folding, extensive faulting, magmatic activity, and other events that can be described as orogenic events. Today, the Catskills are described less as a mountain range, and more as a severely eroded plateau resulting in a sharp relief (Catskills GIS Atlas 2012).

To me, a mountain is anything that has dirt, rocks, plants, and an incline. Places like that tend to have “vibes”. I’m going to forget the fact that the area is crammed with resorts and that it is mostly known as the place where many young stand up comedians got their start. I drew my own take on these mountains as it hit me while camping there and hiking through the area. I cannot define that vibe in a word because I had many different experiences there.

We once camped at Mongaup Pond: a beautiful campground on a lake. We filled the raft with air and lowered it into the water. We paddled through the water and a bald eagle nervously floated from tree to nearby tree as if he were always uncomfortable. As soon as I opened a Victory Pils he was gone. Some time later, a golden eagle circled the lake over and over again. I don’t think he found what he was looking for. Some time even later: Witches (I think?). Into the night…awakened inside the tent by strange lights on the outside. In the morning, we tried to place the sounds we heard that night, but we could not tell what they were without adding imagination. What was the vibe….?

Back to our favorite campground: Woodland Valley Campground. The vibe is always really good here. No enchanted lake or breathtaking views, just a quiet place amidst oaks and other hardwood trees that I can’t really identify. The main attraction photo describing this place in the brochure was a photo of a leaf. The man working the visitor’s booth closely resembled Keanu Reeves. He didn’t talk much about surfing, but he had great tips for reserving campsites: “Just ummm pull it up on the website man, click reserve, and you’re golden, bra”. Nights here consisted of craft brews, lanterns, interesting humor, stars, hammock time, little mice on Harley’s, and the sound of the owls (if you are lucky).

While hiking; the air always smelled great (unless something crapped nearby). The climbs were challenging, rocky, and refreshing. Once at the top, sometimes you’d see peaks of similar size; cobalt and cerulean blue in the distance. Other times, you’d see hazy bodies of water down below or nothing but thick fog. In the woods, something was always scurrying around and rustling up the leaves. Now and then you’d feel a presence of something and then nothing. Suddenly, a bird of prey would leave in haste crashing through the trees, cursing you for discovering its hiding spot. You’d wait for your heart to slow down and then take some water from the stream.

What about the people? Not my favorite subject. What was the vibe in the Catskills? I’m not sure I’ve got it yet, but I’m excited to go there again.

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Works Cited

^ “REGIONAL TOPOGRAPHY”. Catskills GIS Atlas. Catskill Center. Retrieved 2009-10-12.

On Your Own Two Feet

Life Balance, New Jersey, Outdoor Adventure

My honey and I live in New Jersey and we’ve recently witnessed the wrath of Hurricane Sandy. The neighborhood we live in looked like a war zone after Sandy blew through the state. 90 MPH winds sent hundreds of giant eastern white pine trees crashing down on electric cables, across major roads (blocking them completely), and in most unfortunate cases; through houses. My grandfather believes that this occurred because New Jersey’s soil is sandy and rocky, which makes it impossible for trees to become deeply rooted into the ground. Luckily, our apartment building had almost no damage. Our hearts go out to those who were less fortunate and we gladly donated our clothing to those who needed it more.

But, I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw how the hurricane affected the dynamics between certain people and their beloved automobiles. Once Sandy had gone, these people suddenly needed to put gas in their cars NOW! No matter what! With all these giant trees blocking the roads, how were they going to get to the supermarket to buy crackers? They would have to do the unthinkable!!! They would have to put one foot in front of the other and walk an entire half a mile to the store to taste those yummy crackers. That’s right you can actually get to the store…by walking there. No need to run over police officers at gas stations or pull guns and axes on old ladies who happen to get ahead of you at the gas pump (yes, this actually happened).

I could go off on a rant about how the hurricane brought out the worst (and the best) in people, but I think we already know that, so let’s take a walk instead. It’s the most natural thing for us to do. That’s why we were created to walk upright on two feet. To me, walking is pure magic! It’s the best thing since sliced bread.

While walking you notice things. Is that a saw-whet Owl…in Jersey (who knew)? Your son or daughter walking beside you now remembers the moment forever. In really late fall you notice the cold gray-blue sky, the smell of dirt and dead leaves, and you feel the chill on your face and bones, and it makes you feel alive. It awakens the senses and inspires creativity. Henry David Thoreau and tons of other literary geniuses had their best ideas come to them in mid stride.

Sadly, I feel that very few of us take walks these days and even fewer are in touch with the natural world. When I tell people at work that I went for a walk after work, they look at me with utter disbelief, as if I said “I went for a walk after work NAKED”. The late great Edward Abbey totally called it back in the 60s when he said that the automobile will lead to the demise of our national parks, monuments, state parks, and forests. Yes sir, no profits to be made if we were to experience our parks mainly on foot or bicycle (other than profits in the form of mental and health wellness, but who cares about that).

Still, I am still hopeful that natural disasters won’t be the thing to finally unplug us from our machines and awaken us into the real world. OK, time to go for a walk 🙂

A Great Year for (car) Camping

Life Balance, Outdoor Adventure

The two week immersion into the Pasayten Wilderness in Washington State did nothing to curb my appetite for exploration and adventure. The trip only made matters worse, leaving me hungry for more portions of delicious wilderness. I learned a lot on that NOLS (national outdoor leadership school) backpacking course and I was eager to put newly acquired skills to use. And off I went, but as much as I enjoy the company of my own thoughts I felt lonely at times. So, I dragged a few friends along for a couple of short backpacking trips. Later, it occurred to me that lugging a heavy pack for days, smelling like ass, and eating dehydrated peppers wasn’t everyone’s idea of a grand old time.

Looks like I wasn’t going to have my wilderness cake and eat it too. There was only one way to play the hand I was dealt and combine the company of my bros with being outdoors. I would have to embrace a particular kind of camping…..car camping. Oh yes, everyone loves car camping. Fans include bikers, hippies, birders, and beauty pageant winners. No heavy lifting, no need to emulate the diet of a goat, and best of all; no need to dig a hole after a sip of coffee. The bathroom is close and the car is even closer. So close, I often walk right smack into the car, usually after my 3rd specialty beer. It would be quite a challenge to backpack with a six pack of Boulder Beer’s “Hazed and Infused”.

After a strong night of partying in the woods, it was time to pass out on king-size air mattresses waiting inside tents that Andre The Giant must have loaned out. But, I still had the stars, the fresh mountain air, the eerie sounds of owls growing louder and nearer, and best of all; the company of my bros. My cynicism for car camping was replaced with a feeling of content, as I reflected on a terrific night of classic shenanigans. Same old jokes, same old impressions and comedy skits, for well over a decade now. There are trips where nights like this make the trip and trips where it’s all about summiting that peak, but I wouldn’t trade one for the other.

Winter Wonderland

Hike of the Week, Outdoor Adventure

hang on little ice patch...

I joined this club and arranged to have a group hike, but we didn’t get there in time.  It snowed in the Mountains of upstate New York, but it snowed in Central Jersey too.  Continental breakfast at the motel was three rice crispy bars and Folgers coffee. It was colder than I expected. Shivering we layered up and threw our packs in the back of the jeep.

It was only a few hundred yards to the trailhead if you didn’t mind trespassing and hopping fences. We took the main road and further down the road it was closed off. My hunnie used her back-road navigation-phone-gadget-tech-devices to land us at the trailhead. The others had already gone up the mountain and now it was our turn to walk into the gray and white cold.

The snowshoes felt very odd. I quickly replaced them with micro-spikes and so did my hunnie. It was damn cold, but my body started to feel comfortable two miles up the trail and the golden eagle we just saw raised our spirits. I turned around to look back at the mountains. The silence was unsettling. My ears were ringing. I wonder if I could get used to the quiet if I stayed out here for a few days.

A while later we were down from the mountain it was time for beer. At the bar, everyone was wearing a hat. Even the large and in-charge lady bar tender was sporting a chauffeur hat. Was this a theme or were they trying to cover up bald spots? Doesn’t matter, beer was good and that made me happy. A pit-bull pup ran through the bar pouncing on empty peanut shells and I sat back and reveled in the memories the day had brought.

Big Hiking Chicken

New Jersey, Outdoor Adventure

Lately, I’ve been doing a few solo-hikes. Not my favorite but, desperate times call for desperate measures. The leaves are gone and it’s cold as a witch’s teat (whatever that means). So it’s hard to get ordinary people to join me on a hike this time of year.

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