U.S.A. Forest Hiking - Everything We Need Can be Carried on our Back!

I have always wanted to hike in to a campsite, carrying everything needed on my back. I am not sure why, since subjectively this seems like a pretty painful way to camp. Actually my dream is to do this for a long trip - maybe a week - of hiking and camping. So you can imagine I was pretty excited when our friends Paul and Tammy invited us.

Let me just mention straight away that this experience surpassed even my wildest hopes. It was amazing. We had such a great time, and got to bond with such a lovely group of people. It is definitely on my list of things to do again. And hopefully again and again.

So first of all we drove a couple hours North from Walkill. It never ceases to amaze me how big the U.S. of A. is and how much forest or otherwise unoccupied space there is. One guesstimate is that New York state has about 2.3 billion trees.

So we arrive at the trail head where we plan to leave our cars, and unpack all our stuff. Just as we are ready to leave, a police car pulls up. Two policemen straight out of a movie get out. They have jeans and shirts, but bullet proof vests, big guns, utility belts and unshaven faces. They pull out a picture of a scary looking dude and ask us if we have seen this man. He has shot someone and is on the run, in this very forest. He is 6ft tall, long hair, armed and dangerous. They say, 'if you meet him, just do what he asks.' They drive off, wheels spinning, leaving us mildly worried.

We figure the chances of bumping into him are pretty remote, so we go ahead. In any case with this guy to protect us - a tough looking bethelite named Terrence - we are not too worried (he was probably just as scared as all of us, but he looked confident.) Though in retrospect that could have been because he was trying to impress his girlfriend.

The hike itself was not unpleasant in spite of our huge loads. And even though it was uphill, it was more a matter of pacing, so it didn't feel like a hard slog.

And as a plus, the forest was just so sublime. Quiet, beautiful, green. We loved every minute.

Here's the whole crew (except me, obviously!) We are about 5 min from where we finally camped, next to this beautiful river, pool and waterfalls - more on this later.

We arrived and set up our little tent that was so tiny (and perfectly sized for 2) we had to put our shoes outside. This is probably a good habit anyway, so no drama.

Paul is a genius camp chef. We had calzone pizza (!), burritos, and all kinds of tasty dishes that you would not expect to have while camping. He has a combination of Italian heritage and a willingness to experiment with tastes that you would not ordinarily think of. One time he told me he was making pizza with goat cheese and arugula I wasn't too impressed, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings. The pizza was amazing. Oh, and he made it on a barbeque grill. Anyway, after that I always agree to his ideas, and they always taste good.



Burritos on the fire. What is it about camp food that makes it taste so good!

The area where we camped had this beautiful river and rapids running right next to it, so we spent a day chilling by the river.

When I say chilling, I am not kidding. The water was probably pretty close to freezing. I tried my best to go in but this is as far as I could go! But the rest were hardier than me and went in.



So I spent the time exploring the area and hiking back along the river bank. It was such a stunning place. I would love to build a hut here and just spend our summers here writing books (not sure if Sandi will agree to my plan....) New system dreams. (Update: Sandi has approved the plan.)

Apparently, spending time in forests is good for your creativity. This is scientifically proven. They don't understand why, but they can measure its effects. 

It also provides ample opportunities to get to know friends better. This sister was diminutive in size but had already learned Portuguese, been a need-greater in Brazil and is now serving as a commuter in Walkill.

Terrence and his girl Grace (now happily married). I couldn't resist a quick engagement photoshoot.

Back to camp in time to make some pizza!

In our walking around we discovered this old ruin. Apparently in the early 1900s someone had indeed built his house next to the river - his location was really perfect - but now its just a ruin.

Can you spot our tent?

After a couple of nights, it was time to leave. We really wanted to stay it was so beautiful. But we will be back one day. This was really an unforgettable experience. Thank you, team!