My First Hiking Overnight: Part I.

The first weekend of June, Paula and I left nice and early to drive to the Adirondacks to volunteer cleaning up the Avalanche Ski Trail on National Trails Day. If you’re a skier and frequent this trail, you’re welcome! Our team of nine led by Frank cleaned up all of the blow-down and trimmed the trees so that you’d have plenty of room for fun this winter. It was a warm day on the trails, but I was only carrying my small day pack and loppers, so we were able to hike fast and work quickly. We were out there for about six hours, trimming and clearing, and once we got back to the campground, I was ready for a nap! We had about an hour until the bbq that the Adirondack Loj was throwing for us, so I snuggled into my tent and snoozed.

Before I knew it, it was party time! Davidson Brothers Brewing Company supplied us with an open bar for the evening, there was plenty of vegan options for me to gobble down (black bean burgers, chips & salsa, watermelon, homemade oatmeal cookies, corn on the cob), and there was a small band that kept us singing along or swaying in our seats. Conversation was endless with plenty of people with similar interests and experiences; we ended up connecting with a gentleman from Saratoga who was on our original clean-up team. Besides the free beer and food, we also got a t-shirt and raffle ticket… and guess who won the one prize that requires you to come back during the next trail clean-up day? This gal.

Apparently this hat was given to an auction two years ago, and no one bid on it. It was then raffled off at a trail clean-up, and then the person who won it, donated it back during the following trail clean-up day. And that’s how it was in the running to be won this year. As the winner of the hat, I shall bring it back to be raffled off and won by another innocent hiker; can’t break the cycle.

That night we snuggled in early into our tents and within fifteen minutes, it was pouring. There was lightning. There was thunder. And there was more rain for apparently five hours; but I wouldn’t know because I passed out fairly quickly. This was my first time using my lightweight/backpacking tent and I didn’t mind the weather; I’d rather figure out in a campground if it didn’t work properly (which it didn’t HOWEVER that may have been due to my set up; not going to return the tent just yet). I was up on my own around 6 am and realized that Paula wasn’t already up; she’s normally wide awake before five; she didn’t sleep very well during the storm. It was a slow going morning, but I didn’t mind because it gave us plenty of time to pack our packs and let things dry out a bit.

Breakfast was a  cup of curry lentil soup by The Spice Hunter. The flavor was delicious, I do prefer a hot meal over cereal and it was just the right amount; filled me up and kept me satisfied until about 11am. I don’t purchase these cup of soups for everyday consumption however on the trail, it’s easier to find food that just requires boiling water. Sodium is never an issue for me on the trail because I work so hard for so many hours, consuming sodium actually helps my performance. More about food on the trail in an upcoming post!

By eight am, our site was picked up, our bags packed and we were saying goodbye to cell phone service and the convenience of the car. We logged in at the parking lot and were off for day two on the trails!