All Good Things are Wild and Free

In the Catskills by Thomas Doughty
"Generally speaking, a howling wilderness does not howl: it is the imagination of the traveler that does the howling." - Henry David Thoreau

Unless, of course, you travel with dogs. Then maybe it's more than your imagination.



I didn't have work on Friday, so I packed up the dogs and drove up to Chester. We went to Hacklebarney State Park, where I've hiked many times. It was about 70 degrees, warm and sunny, but you could feel that fall breeze starting to creep in.






The trails were slick in some spots from the recent rain. And the rivers that cut through the park were flowing fast. It made Nali nervous, but Dexter wanted to get closer and dip his feet in.



I think the leaves were starting to change colors -- but I can't be sure. I spent most of the hike focusing on not falling down. This was Denali's first real hike and she pulled with all her 40 pounds the entire time. She was in harness, so that's exactly what she should be doing, but it made the walk pretty intense.



Going uphill with two dogs pulling was a relief. Going down hill, or trying to maneuver over the rocky trail, was borderline scary. In hindsight, I should have avoided the rocky areas. I was asking for a sprained ankle, but somehow managed to make it out in one piece.



We only went about four miles, but it was pretty warm and I was beat. Denali could have went another ten, I bet. Dexter was content either way. On the way home, I stopped at Alstede Farms for some cider, apple pie, and honey. Nothing beats locally grown food.

All in all, a perfect kind of day.

We're Only In This For The Ride

The past week has been a taste of what the rest of spring, summer, and fall have in store. I've been drinking frequently, but not enough to get sick. I've been eating lots of delicious food all over the place. I've been with friends every chance I can get.

I've been buying camping gear with abandon. Sunday was the first real hike of the season, in Harriman State Park up in NY. I hit Watchung a few times before that, but they were shrimpy two or three mile hikes. We did around six in Harriman, with lots of uphill and downhill climbs. I feel more at home in woods I've never been to before, than I do in most places.

I want every weekend to be roofless, from now until December.

What's the Point?

Don't worry, this isn't going to be a self-pitying entry about my qualms with the universe. I don't mean "What's the point?" as a rhetorical question, as people often do. I mean it quite literally. What's the point to this blog?

A friend of mine has been working on a blog of his own, and has been trying to streamline his thoughts and interests into a general theme. He got me thinking about the blogs I read, and my own blog, as well.

The blogs I read have very little in common with one another. A fashion designer in Brooklyn, a dog musher in Alaska, a farmer in upstate New York, a mother and her cancer-fighting baby in Kentucky. Maybe because they're all written by strong women? They all have qualities I admire; primarily, strength and independence. Only a few of the blogs I read are written by men. (And most don't even update anymore!)

Blogs are an evolution of the personal diary; a hobby often associated with the female sex (though I'm not sure why -- is keeping a record of your day-to-day life somehow feminine?). I've always kept diaries, journals, and now, blogs. My first diary was a big, blue, spiral notebook. I mostly used it for stickers, but I did scribble out some entries. They were riddled with spelling errors and hard to read, chicken-scratch handwriting.

I went through a long phase of starting journals and then immediately destroying everything I had written. Pretty much sums up my pre-teen and teenage years. So much angst for no apparent reason.

Then came the internet. I think I have had every online journal/diary/blog imaginable. Livejournal, Deadjournal, Xanga, and more recently, Blogger and Tumblr. I know there are others, I just can't remember them all.

But what's the point? Why have I always been so inclined to record my ramblings? And publicly, no less? Part of it is to feel important, I'm sure. To broadcast my thoughts and ideas, as if they somehow matter. Many hope to gain a following, some sort of e-fame, through their writing. I admit, that would be exciting. But I've been writing for years without any clear audience, and I don't show any signs of stopping.

My blog (diary, journal, etc.) is for me, above all else. It's something to keep track of my existence -- to prove that I exist. To share what I care about to anyone who might be listening. I don't write to change anyone's mind, but to open it, if only for a minute. And while I don't write about anything earth-shattering or unique, I hope to at least offer an alternate perspective: my perspective.

So when I ramble about dogs, cooking, and hiking, I realize I may bore the masses. But one person might adopt a husky, buy a bread machine, or go for a walk in the woods. And that's all I can hope for.

Colors of Autumn

After hiking six miles around the Watchung Reservation with my point-and-shoot, I can safely state that it was a solid investment. To say it takes good photos would be an understatement. It's so compact and light, I had no trouble letting it dangle from my wrist the entire time. Definitely easier on my back than lugging around my D-SLR gear.

Even the cheesy panorama setting produced some pretty awesome shots.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with my new hiking buddy. Although Dexter was a bit annoyed by my frequent stops for photo opportunities.

"Can we go!?"

The Trail

Sorry for the crappy cell phone pictures -- it's all I carry when I'm hiking.
I will be buying a durable point-and-shoot soon!
I've been more active in the past couple days than I have been in weeks. Sad, but true -- daily 30-minute walks aren't cutting it. I had Thursday and Friday off, thanks to some Jewish holidays, but found myself without anyone to share the days with. I did what I often do in this situation: I harnessed Dexter and hit the woods.

On Thursday I took a 3.43 mile baby-hike around the Watchung Reservation. Friday we doubled it with a 6.65 mile hike at Jockey Hollow. We hiked the longest trail they had to offer, and it felt amazing! I honestly could hike forever. I had Dexter attached to my waist and he's learning to walk without breaking me in half. I'll probably order a padded "hands-free belt leash" (Dan, go ahead and laugh) in the next few days.

Anyway... while hiking around Jockey Hollow, I started thinking. I'd love to do a really long, multi-day hike -- maybe through part of the Appalachian Trail. I still need to learn a lot -- especially how to pack for such a trip. I'll spend the next year or so training. I need to increase my speed and trail length considerably before I can do anything too extreme (or Xtreme). Not to mention get some real hiking boots -- I don't think Converse sneakers are doing my body any good.

One of the best things about all this hiking is that it makes for one tired dog! On Saturday, Dex accompanied me to the Tails of the Tundra Siberian Husky Rescue fundraising event. It consisted of a two mile hike and lots of other dog-friendly activities. It was really more of a walk than an actual hike, but since I spent the day taking photos and Dexter spent it wrestling huskies, we were both sufficiently exhausted by the time we got home.

Sunday was also spent with canines -- this time, the Howling Woods Farm wolfdogs. No hiking was involved, though. Just taking pictures and educating the crowd. Unfortunately, Dexter had to stay home this time -- not sure my wolfy friends would appreciate his company.

I have more days off at the end of this week, and I plan to scope out some more hiking destinations. If it's cold enough, I may even bike with Dex. We'll see!

Camping in the NJ Pine Barrens

Over the weekend Dan, Robert, Teresita and I went camping in Wharton State Forest. I've never camped in the Pine Barrens before, so it was interesting to say the least. It was almost a two-hour drive, which was filled with bad attitudes and stress. Despite the problems, we made it to the registration office and somehow found our camp site. We were rather disappointed by how small the designated camping area was, but we didn't really have a choice.

We set up the tent and built a fire. It had been an exhausting day, so we fell asleep relatively early. I woke up early the next morning, mostly because Dexter was whimpering to be let out of the tent. I snapped a few nice pictures of the area, before we were bombarded by 20-something boy scouts and their leaders/parents. There was literally a caravan of minivans filling into our already small camping area. We waited for Teri to arrive, feeling quite bitter.

We left our camp site Saturday afternoon to hike in another, less populated area. We trudged through about five miles of the Barrens, stopping for lunch and an occasional rest. Dexter ran loose through most of the hike, and did quite well. He knows to stay close to us and his recall is getting better.

We saw a lot of pretty and unusual sights. A lot of the streams we passed were black in the deep areas, blood-red near the shallow shores. Teri explained it was cedar water, which forms "when water is allowed to stand in highly acidic soil with a high iron ore content. The iron ore discolors the water, and the acid deters the presence of microorganisms which might otherwise proliferate and clarify the water. Cedar water can also develop when trees with highly tannic leaves, such as oaks, neighbor a waterway and drop their leaves into the water, causing it to discolor with time. Lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams can all develop cedar water." (The more you know!)

We returned from our hike and gathered more wood. Rob built a fire, which Dan and I maintained. Rob and Teri made a dinner of chicken, potatoes, string beans and carrots in foil pouches. After eating, we grew tired of the listening to the boy scouts (they were now having some sort of award ceremony), and decided to pile into the tent. We enjoyed another one of nature's gifts, got silly and snacked heavily.

We slept through a chilly night and morning, which I survived quite well thanks to the 50-pound dog on my legs. Again I woke up before everyone else (except Dexter) and decided to hike a little. I walked him around our camp area and caught a glimpse of a steaming stream, with the light from dawn making everything sparkle. It was one of those awe-inspiring moments and as cheesy as it sounds, I was completely happy. I stood for a few minutes, with Dexter anxiously tugging to move on, breathing in the clean, crisp air. It made the whole trip worth it. My only regret is that I didn't have my camera on me to capture the moment. But it's OK, perfect memories can live on without photographic evidence.

Summer Wrap-Up

Today is August 31st and I can feel summer drawing to a close. My friends are going back to their respective schools; others are settling in at jobs. My day to day life won't be much different as the seasons change, but I feel different. The humid summer haze has lifted, leaving cool, breezy days.

We're approaching my favorite time of the year. Labor Day through New Years; I love autumn weather, pumpkin picking, hiking, drinking apple cider and eating pumpkin pies. Before you know it, it's Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Just typing this has made me all giddy.

It is still summer, though, so I'd like to wrap up by sharing some of my favorite summer photos. More will surely follow after our Labor Day Festivities, but for now, enjoy: