A dream...

I've become increasingly obsessed with the Appalachian trail or "AT" and those that set out to hike from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine. I've never been athletic having inherited a bit of winter asthma and having been without the use of my left shoulder and bicep from a serious case of Encephalitis I contracted as a child. I was always told to take it easy, and so I did...After twenty five years of this mindset the mental and physical barriers are built so high that I feel conquering them is sometimes harder than the actual task at hand, but when I'm in the woods, something clicks. It's the only time I feel at one with my body, at the most human level breathing, walking, climbing, resting and eating only when in need, I feel at peace. My mind clears and hear that wonderful silence that only comes two miles into a trail when no one is around. Rocky paths, steep climbs and river crossings come easily when I am only there to challenge myself. When those hiking around me and with me slip out of range I let go of the urge to compete and simply hike my own hike.

Walking gives me peace that I have never known otherwise, in the city or on the trail I have always had the urge to wander. Ever since my husband and I hiked back two miles in Sequoia National Park to sit in a fallen giant sequoia I've been completely hooked. So what if I could walk from Georgia to Maine over 2,000 miles of trail, taking in that peace in every breath from when my eyes first open in the morning until crawling to bed exhausted in the evening. That sounds like something to strive for.

I just finished reading a blog on wicked local about a man who accomplished this journey later in life after aspiring to it and preparing for it at age twenty-six. Read it here at Hiking the Appalachian Trail: How it all started. So one day I may take the ultimate challenge and step onto the trail at Springer Mountain, and it may be after my future children have grown up and have families of there own, but I am as "Old Buzzard" puts it, planting the seed.

Gearing Up...

As I've stated in the description of this blog. I am by no means an experienced gear head. In fact, on the original cross-country trip I packed a whole table top weber gas grill into the trunk of our car... which took up a lot of room...and never worked. Since then we've gotten a bit more savvy, but our hardy Swiss Gear Tent(left) ,purchased at K-mart over 3 years ago, is still weathering the storms. When we head out for a weekend trip there are two goals in mind in terms of gear: to be as prepared as possible and travel as light as possible. After all, all of our food, clothing, shelter and dog needs to fit in our hatchback.

Below is a a list of gear that we take on a typical 2 night car camping trip as well as tips for packing it in and packing it out. This list is the product of a lot of trial and error, but I can safely say it works for us. I hope it will be a good jumping off point for you as well...

Weekend Car Camping Gear List...

Food Prep:

• Camp stove that takes those little green Coleman tanks, and call ahead or check out the campground's website to find out what they have in terms of fire pits and grills. If it rains, your going to need the camp stove.
• Long Matches and a Lighter
• Charcoal
• Starter Bricks
• Mess Kit: 1 per person, spoon, fork, knife, plate, cup, bowl
• Pot+cover
• Nonstick Pan+cover
• French Press (not glass!)
  
• Paper Towels
• Sponge
• Eco friendly dish soap
• Wash Basin
• Drinking/Cooking Water (It's not always so great at the site)
  
• Trash Bags
• Some basic food prep items we've kicked ourselves for forgetting: Salt and Pepper, Sugar or agave syrup, non-dairy creamer or condensed milk, ketchup, mustard, tea, coffee!
• Chopping knife
• Can opener
• Cooler/Cooler Bag
  

Shelter

• Tent
• Rainfly
  
• Footprint or Tarp
• Stakes (we take several kinds depending on terrain)
• Mallot
• Extra Tarp and Rope for picnic Shelter
• Sleeping Bag (Check the weather report and make sure its rated for the lowest temp!)
  
• Sleeping Pad
• Pillows (or use your duffel)

**Most car camping sites will have a picnic tables but extra folding chairs can come in use.

Other Necessities

• Flashlights (1 for the car, 1 for the tent, 1 for the picnic area)
• Lantern
• Swiss Army Knife
  
• Playing Cards
• Camera
• Check the Day Hike Essentials Page if your planning on heading into the woods!
  

For the Dogs

• Tie out leash
• Bowls
• Food
• Drinking Water

A Note on Firewood: Every year there are more and more warnings about moving firewood or bringing it with you to the campground. As a general rule check the park's website ahead of time to see if they allow firewood from surrounding areas. Most campgrounds will have a way to purchase it on-site. In addition campfires are only permitted for cooking in New York State.

Packing:
We keep everything sorted into gear bags of one form or another. A large upright duffel for the kitchen gear, small bag for the tarp, stakes and shelter set up, cooler bag for the dry goods and a cooler with ice for any fresh perishables we bring as well as condiments. When setting up the campsite, take out the items that you will use the most(and won't blow away) and organize them on a surface, then take out only what you need when you need it and clean up often, this will ensure that your gear stays packed and ready to toss into a car or bear box if when you leave your site.

Please be responsible and follow the "Leave No Trace" Principles of Outdoor Ethics:

Plan Ahead and Prepare | Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces | Dispose of Waste Properly | Leave What You Find | Minimize Campfire Impacts | Respect Wildlife | Be Considerate of Other Visitors

For more information and more information on the principles you can visit the following link:

Leave No Trace
(http://www.lnt.org/programs/principles.php)
The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is an educational, nonprofit organization dedicated to the responsible enjoyment and active stewardship of the outdoors by all people. worldwide.

Skyline Drive, A Shenandoah Road Trip

A view from skyline drive...

"To everyone, especially to those who live in narrow streets where automobiles are thicker than ants in an ant hill and where trolleys clang, sirens screech, and people rush about, we say, come to this beautiful Blue Ridge area for recreation and interesting knowledge...; come, and enjoy tranquillity in the canyons where streams ripple over rocks and waterfalls...; come, and feel the stimulation of the strong wind on some lofty peaks. Do these things, and you will not be disappointed; you will carry away a memory of beautiful and interesting places and a little more strength, a little more wisdom, a little more happiness than you brought with you."

-from James R. Lassiter, "Shenandoah National Park,"

My husband and I set out for Virginia last friday, driving all the way down to Charlottesville to spend the night before driving north on skyline drive in the morning. We took I-78 through to Harrisburg, Pa, transferring to I-81 which was surprisingly pastoral if you ignore the McMansions and Highway through traffic towns. Once we got off of I-81, we headed south, twisting and turning on state routes and back roads, past rolling hills and beautiful little family farms, and by the looks of it, more free-range grass fed beef than you can imagine.

We overnighted in Charlottesville, checked out the college bars and grabbed a midnight sandwich. and spent the morning wandering around the absolutely gorgeous campus with a cup of coffee. We were very tempted to roll out sleeping bags underneath this tree (left). Every kind of flowering tree was in bloom, pinks, violets, fresh cream and bright yellow forsythia, I think we finally found spring...

Click the map below to view our Route.

View Larger Map

By noon we were heading out of Charlotteville and up through Shenandoah. Practically pushing our sturdy but well worn 1995 ford escort up the side of our first mountain to Swift Run Gap Entrance Station. Click here for nps.gov's Shenandoah National Park Map. Shortly after paying our $15 entrance fee (good for the week) we came across our first overlook and were instantly breathless. I hadn't been to Shenandoah since I was a little girl, and can remember my six year old self sitting in the back seat of my dad's ford Taurus, drawing pictures of what all the little towns looked like from "3-thousand feet up." Somehow places tend to lose their grandness when you get bigger, things begin to feel smaller and less overwhelming, and unfortunately less special. Shenandoah's blue ridge mountains may not be as grandiose as the Tetons or the Sierras, but it belongs to the east coast and is like nothing else we have.

Hawks circled the wide valley below and landed on the cliffs by the overlooks as we drove along. We were fortunate enough to watch one resting on a rock about twenty yards from us for 15-20 minutes until it spread its giant wings and flew on. The wonderful thing about going to Shenandoah, or any other park for that matter, this time of year is that there are very few other cars on the road and other people on the trails. We sat at an overlook for nearly half an hour in absolute silence before anyone else drove by.

We continued up to Big Meadows, a mid-park hub and the only open campground this early in the season. We grabbed some tea from the restaurant and did a drive through of the campground to note the best sites. As much as we desperately wanted to camp that night my husband was still nursing a cough and a sore throat and being at 3,000ft. with predicted overnight temperatures dropping below thirty degrees we had to move on. We snapped some pictures of the dear that seem to own the campground...

After Big Meadows we continued up and down, ears popping, past spectacular overlooks and off the end of the world(right). Grasping every beautiful view we could before heading up to Jersey for the night.

Check out the additional photos and video of the drive below. You can also see more about Shenandoah National Park at nps.gov's Shenandoah site.

Hudson Highlands, Cornish Estate Trail, The Snow Lingers...

The past few days in the city have been beautiful, sunny and in the mid fifties, so with the hopes of clear trails we set off this morning for Clarence Fahnestock State Park to check out a section of the Appalachian trail, however, as we drove north on the Taconic State Parkway it became obvious that the snow from last weekend was still hanging around, two feet thick in some parts despite three days of sunshine and spring weather. We parked on Route 301 just as a very determined and equally prepared hiker emerged from the northern trailhead armed with trekking poles, dressed in goulashes and several sweaters, and carrying a day pack that was more along the lines of our overnighters. We hid our shamefully unprepared selves (one of us wearing shorts) in the car until he passed and then tested our luck with the snow...which looked something like this...

Swallowing our pride we snapped some shots of the beautiful scenery and headed out of the park on 301 toward the Hudson River, hoping to find a riverside path sans slush. After a quick stop in Cold Spring to walk along the water we headed north through Hudson Highlands State Park looking for a clear trailhead. A few miles up 9D on the right we found an old stone gate now serving as the trailhead for the Cornish Estate Trail.

By Train: Take the Metro-north Hudson Line to Cold Spring Station. From the station Follow Main Street east to Fair Street. Turn left onto Fair Street and continue to Route 9D. Follow 9D until the entrance pictured above appears on your right. According to Google maps walking directions the total distance is 1.3mi. Be careful on 9D though, there's a high speed limit and no real sidewalk!

The trail starts off on an abandoned road formerly used for access to an old estate, and slowly slopes up the ridge. It's a fairly easy stroll and many people had brought their dogs for a quick walk. We were able to get a ways up the ridge before hitting snow again, but it wasn't too deep and we had our hiking boots so we decided to press on. The views across the Hudson to the mountains beyond were spectacular and we could hear and see trains passing on the tracks below.

About a half mile up the trail we reached the stone ruins of the Old Cornish Estate that used to occupy the land now maintained by the park. We'll have to head back to explore inside. After a quick search for the trail on trails.com we learned that the estate had been occupied by a cornish family up until the 1940's and it was later destroyed by fire in 1956. Further up the trail there are remains of the Dairy farm that the family ran as well.

We continued up the trail which is apparently dirt at this point but there was no way to tell as the snow was getting really thick! We walked a few switchbacks and came upon some beautiful views of nearby Breakneck Ridge under a light coating of snow. By this point all was quiet and we took a few moments to pause by a stream and catch our breath. Hiking in snow uphill is not like taking an afternoon stroll! With no one else on the trail but us we could have sat for hours basking in the quiet and clear blue skies. We continued along the blue blazed trail until hitting an unused dirt road. Since we only had an hour to get back to the car and the snow was upwards of a foot deep at this point we promised ourselves to come back and decided to head back down.

All in all a great first hike of the season!

Trail Bars, Breakfast Bars, Snack Bars, Whatever Bars!

The following is my husband's recipe for delicious bars packed with fruit and nuts, naturally sweetened with Maple syrup and Vanilla. These are great to pack along for a day hike, camping trip, or to grab for a quick weekday breakfast. We brought an entire batch along to the Catskills with a group of six last year and they got devoured on the first hike! We'll be baking some this week to gear up.

Recipe for Trail Bars:

(Originally adapted from a Recipe for Breakfast Bars at wholeliving.com)

• 1 tablespoon walnut oil, plus more for pan
• 1 1/4 cups spelt or wheat flakes
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup white raisins
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped pistachios
• 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds.
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup maple syrup (The real deal, preferably organic, no Aunt Jemima)
• 1/4 cup fresh ground peanut butter (We like Whole foods honey nut)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Brush an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with oil. Line bottom and two sides with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on each side. Brush paper with oil. In a bowl, combine flakes, cranberries, raisins, pecans, pistachios, sunflower seeds and salt; set aside.

2. In a small saucepan, combine maple syrup, peanut butter, oil, and vanilla. Cook over medium until melted. Add to dry ingredients and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to prepared pan; smooth top. Bake until golden and edges pull away from sides of pan, 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Using paper overhang, lift bars out of pan. On a cutting board, cut into 8 pieces using a serrated knife. Store in an airtight container, separating pieces with wax or parchment paper, for one week.

The Winter Blues, looking toward Spring

So this is the view out my window right now. Needless to say I think the groundhog was right this year and we probably won't be out of the snowy slushy woods until nearly April. I am getting my hopes up by believing the weather report next week (a sunny 45 degrees) which will at least mean a drive up the Hudson if not some attempted early March hiking...we shall see.

Even if the weather doesn't let up, my husband and I have some geographically well positioned business to attend to in central Virginia in late march, which means a full day and overnight in Shenandoah National Park at Big Meadows Campground. More to come!

I've also posted a Day Hike Gear List of what we'll be taking on our tentative early March hike here Day Hike Essentials.

Around the Country in 30 Days...The first time always hurts a little

Before we embarked on a month long road-trip around the country and back in 2007, I hadn't camped since girl scouts, which I was only a member of for about a month so you can infer what a fantastic experience that was.

In my perfect camping world there were beautiful and competitively priced, aesthetically pleasing little cabins dotting the country-side all the way to California and back. For the nights we were to spend in National Parks, I dreamed of pulling into perfect remote little campsites in a pick-up truck with a camper top similar to Rocinanthe in John Steinbeck's "Travel's with Charley." Unfortunately this would not be the case and we would have to rough it with our shoestring budget.

Starting from zero we had about $300.00 to spend on gear. If you've checked the REI site lately that doesn't go very far. Instead we turned our cash toward K-mart for the bare necessities: tent, lantern, and mess kit. We stuck to what we had for the rest. We grabbed blankets, lunky suitcases, an old lunch kit cooler, utensils out of the drawer and my dad's weber gas tabletop grill, packing all this and more into the back of a PT cruiser with the backseats pushed down, this was going to be interesting.

If you've camped before you know that blankets do not do the job that a sleeping bag does, and by the time we reached Wyoming we were freezing our asses off and waking up in the middle of the night to huddle closer together, it was quite romantic.

Our gas grill was a bust and had we not promised to return it safely to my father along with his beloved car, we would have left it by the side of the road for the next unknowing camper.

I got used to the tent pretty quickly, as well as the bugs, snakes, racoons, birds, squirrels rambling buffalo and grizzly bears, which were all much scarier in my mind than in reality, although I can’t say enough about heeding bear warnings wherever you go, I had written it off until a ranger at a Yellowstone campground handed us a photo of a bear who had torn the window out of a car and climbed in.

In the end, after the scrapes and scares and one night spent in our car while whistling pacific winds destroyed our tent, we had seen countless beautiful landscapes and met some amazing people, we had tried local foods and adopted a wonderful puppy. Now I can’t imagine a summer with out it.

And so as I sit here in my warm living room with a cup of tea and a serious case of cabin fever watching snow blanket the BQE out my window, I'm looking forward to campfires and creatures howling in the night again. Of course this year, there will be a real sleeping bag involved.