Backpacking has been on my list of things to do for years now. I've written about my plans for it. I've read up on it (classic - "Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson). I've watched videos. My level of admiration and fascination with thru-hikers of the Appalachian Trail is on par with my fascination with ultra-runners. As a hiker (and as a runner), it feels like these people are both superhuman and yet oddly attainable. If I put in the time, effort, and most importantly, the consistency and dedication, I took could be one of those epic people too. So I've fantasized about it for years. However, there were a couple things I allowed to get in my way. One was that I made excuses about the cost of equipment. About four years ago, I decided to begin investing and made a really preliminary purchase from Sierra Trading Post when they were having a sale. I got a 30L pack (Gregory Freia), a stuff sack, a 30-degree sleeping bag (Marmot), flashlight, and pocket knife. Plus I accumulated a couple of other camping things over the years (thermarest sleeping pad, percolator, etc). Another thing holding me back was that while I never had any issues hiking alone, overnighting or backpacking alone didn't always seem as obvious or maybe accessible. It was a longer time commitment, obviously. I don't know. Whatever the reasons were, it just never happened.
I made vague plans over the years with various people, but I never pushed and they never pushed so it didn't happen. Day hikes were a lot easier. And if I'm totally honest, often times I found myself getting kind of bored after 2 hours of hiking. After a long winter, which was broken up by life-saving skiing trips (seriously, they make winter actually enjoyable), I was dying to get back outside. My fiance, despite being an avid outdoors person and hiker in his past, hadn't seemed very enthusiastic about hiking somewhat recently. To spark the flame, for Christmas I got D a double hammock, rainfly, two-person sleeping bag. Finally, the weather broke and two weekends ago, Saturday was forecasted to be a beautiful 80 degree and sunny day. We decided we were finally going go on a backpacking trip. Just a simple overnight trip in Harriman/Bear Mountain. Thinking back to learning about the William Brien Stone Lean-to, I did a little research and learned there are actually 9 stone lean-tos in Harriman!
The idea was to hike out to a lean-to and camp near it. Saturday night into Sunday was supposed to be rainy and cold. Camping near the lean-to gave us the possible option to bunk down in the lean if the rainfly was ineffective. The both of us got super giddy about it. We checked our maps and did research about the pros and cons of the different lean-tos. There were scenic overlooks if we went one way or other interesting things to see if we went another way. We stopped by Campmor to pick up gear. (They had seriously incredible deals on packs. Plus really comparable or better prices than other places like REI.) D got tried on packs and got fitted with one. The sales dude was really knowledgable and helpful. We picked up freeze-dried meals, headlamps, and contemplated water filtration systems. There were so many things to research. What's the best material for cookware? Should you use a pump system, squeeze system, or gravity system for water filtration? What degree underquilt do you need for a hammock if it's dropping down to 30-degrees part of the night? How much weight should you ideally carry?
I felt like I was waking up.
Our final decision was to drive up to the Perkins Memorial Tower and hike over to the Timpe-Torne trail on Bear Mountain down to the Westmountain Shelter. It had a lot going for it. It had a good warm-up distance of 4.5 miles to ease us into carrying packs. There were plenty of scenic overlooks. Nice elevation change. Finally, Westmountain is apparently known for its awesome views of the Hudson and city skyline.
The night before we got some items together and started packing. The next morning we frantically tried to get the rest of our stuff together. Both of us were extremely excited. What's funny is that most people would have this level of excitement for a long distance, exotic trip. This was a simple overnight hike at a location less than an hour away. Regardless, we packed everything up (probably way too heavy) and were on our way. We didn't have any light cookware or any sort of a water filtration system. We were cooking over the fire and didn't have a cooking system. We also brought a two-person sleeping bag plus a single person sleeping bag. Plus we brought way more fresh food than we needed. All these things seriously added up in weight. D's pack ended up at almost 50 lbs and mine was about 27 lbs. For a simple overnight. Pretty ridiculous.
Overall, the hike was a beautiful hike. Where we ended up setting up our campsite was crowded (not unexpected because it was the first nice weekend of the spring and the location), but not unpleasant. In fact, our firepit area was situated at an awesome vantage point overlooking the Hudson. It was cold and rainy overnight but our rain fly kept us dry and our underquilt kept us warm. Besides, two people and a dog in a hammock cocoon probably generate enough body heat to keep us warm in pretty cold temps. We both slept really well. The place cleared out pretty early and was really cold in the morning.
Let me tell you, sipping delicious, hot coffee while perched on a rock, overlooking the trees and the river in the distance, while snuggled up to my fiance and dog is one of the most blissful feelings. I found myself wondering how it was that the black coffee tasted so good. How could I be so happy while also freezing and sore?
It's hard to explain, but I felt as if I was where I needed to be. It was a natural high unlike anything else. One of the best parts was that I wasn't feeling it alone. D was feeling it too. Humans and our ancestors from have been around for millions of years, and nearly that entire time was spent outdoors, roaming, in direct touch with nature. Our current condition has left us detached and disconnected from the natural world in so many ways. It's really no mystery why would we feel the way we would. And now we're addicted. Over the course of the following week we upgraded several pieces of our gear and actually invested in aspects we didn't have. Then we went for another overnight hike the following weekend. But that, my friends, is a story for next time.
Until then, keep hiking!
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