Adventure Friday: Traveling with grief and a budget

Today, Andy and I are finishing up our second crosscountry road trip from the east coast to Salt Lake City. Although we followed the exact same route both times, these road trips are wildly different from each other.

Traveling with Grief

When we first did the trip in October 2011, we were driving Andy's tiny Nissan Sentra, overpacked and loaded down with Andy's life belongings. This week, we're driving a zippy Volkswagen Passat, just purchased from a family member and my first ever car. In October 2011, we were giddy with the excitement of Andy's new job and new life. We were awed by the stretches of country we had never seen. This week, although our eyes still saw the beauty of endless blue sky and scrappy pine bluffs, we also felt the burdens of anxiety and sadness. Worries about work, money, family, self, and loss lurked somewhere within the hum of the tires, the vibrations of the engine, the gusting of wind. 

Eating on a Budget

One difference that I've really enjoyed is our approach to food this week. In 2011, we mostly ate at restaurants along the road. We're pretty broke this time, so we packed all of our food with us: instant oatmeal, peanut butter, bread, trail mix, cheese, beer, Red Bull, and a huge batch of spaghetti with homemade sauce. We wash our reusable bowls and utensils with Dr. Brauner's liquid soap in the hotel sinks, and we refill our big coffee mugs at each hotel breakfast.

Let me tell you, at the end of a long driving day, there are few things more comforting than those spaghetti leftovers.

Love begins with 'W'

One thing that has stayed the same is my love for wind turbines and Wyoming. I think my mom would have liked both, too.

Adventure Friday: Go with a group

I have a confession.

All those amazing adventures I've been on? Backcountry camping trips? Epic bicycling trips? All those miles I've logged on the trail and on the road?

Two (or more!) are better than one.

I probably wouldn't have done half of them if it hadn't been for Andy. I'm a doer, but he's a planner. I get up on a sunny morning, hop on my bicycle, and happily combine playtime with weekend errands. He conceives an idea, researches the hell out of it, and creates amazing and well-thought trips. Together, we're a (sometimes bickering) tour de force that squeezes a lot of play into very short periods of time. 

Plus, he always has lots of handy gear.

If your friends are just as new to outdoor adventures as you, look up guided hikes or local clubs. A quick Google search turns up an almost overwhelming amount of options. Some clubs require annual dues or trip fees, while others target specific age groups or attachment status. (Singles only!)

If you're more interested in going hiking than doing research, sign up for a group on Meetup.com. While I've had varying levels of success with Meetup.com activities, I love these groups for one big reason: once you join a group, all the adventures come straight to your email inbox. 

No planning muss, no scheduling fuss — perfect for this get-up-and-go girl.

These people know — it's better with a group.

Local Wednesday: Women rule and women ride

My favorite month of the year is almost here!

May is National Bike Month. For me this usually means three things: I debate whether or not I want to ride in the Five Boro Bike Tour; I finally start commuting by bike on a regular basis; and I get free bagels on Friday mornings from the friendly folks at UWSSR.

As if that wasn't reason enough to love May, Girl Bike Love is now celebrating women, bicycles, and women on bicycles with CycloFemme.

Like the elegant simplicity of a bicycle itself, CycloFemme's mission is straightforward: "Inspire more women to ride, in their own femmetastic way." 

More specifically, CycloFemme provides a forum for women's bicycle love stories and calls women (and men!) to ride together (everywhere!) on May 13. Check out the ride list here.

Are you joining or hosting a CycleFemme ride? I'd love to hear about it!

Adventure Friday: Marcia's Mile & Glenclyffe Loop

On St. Patrick's Day, while New York City streets teemed with green-clad revelers, some friends and I chose a different means of celebration. We went where the green greets the spring—on our first self-planned day hike.

It took a bit of effort. We were looking for a trail easily accessible by train or bus. While many trails are advertised as public transit accessible, hikers often have to walk a few miles on roads before even getting to the trailhead.

Finally, my friend zeroed in on the area around Cold Spring, N.Y., and I found a simple hike called Marcia's Mile, just 75 minutes north of New York City by train.

Take the MetroNorth Hudson Line train from Grand Central to Garrison station, just outside of Philipstown, N.Y. A trailhead sits right at the southeastern corner of the train station parking lot. I don't think you can get much closer than that.

Highlights of the hike?

We found a small pond of loudly singing frogs.

We paused to swing on a rope.

 

We stumbled upon thickly growing bamboo jungles.

We had a picnic lunch on the river.

Best of all, our bodies enjoyed every moment of sun and exercise.

Since we were feeling ambitious, we decided to combine the Marcia's Mile and Arden Point hike (2.2 miles) with the Glenclyffe loop (1.6 miles), as suggested by the Open Space Institute. While the added distance made for a satisfying hike, the Glenclyffe loop seemed slightly disappointing in comparison to  Marcia's Mile.

Marcia's Mile, with its dry leafy trail and second-growth forest, seemed typical for a southern New York hike. The trail was well-worn, but the area was quiet and picturesque on this early spring day.

The vegetation of the Glenclyffe Loop created greater challenges, particularly for new hikers. It was here where we saw long lines of thickly growing bamboo. In some places, the bamboo allowed only a very narrow passage. A bright green creeping plant—perhaps wooded sorrel—stretched across long portions of the trail, obliterating any previous sign of a path, and a few large downed trees forced us off the trail. Mostly, I was disappointed by the frequent reminders of human presence: old tires, broken fences, and abandoned buildings.

Recommendation: 
Stick to Marcia's Mile and Arden Point for a leisurely day hike. Add the Glenclyffe Loop for a better challenge, but make sure you can read trails and blazes. These trails are relatively quiet now, in early spring, but they will likely get crowded in the summer months—if the rope swing by the river is any indication.

Resources:
Since I'm still a novice, I always rely on two types of hiking information.

1. Narrative hiking directions (i.e. "continue straight on the red blaze trail past an old stone wall..."), like those on this Philipstown map or the Open Space Institute website.
2. Official trail conference maps (for more reliable trail orientation), like this NY-NJ Trail Conference East Hudson set of three. These maps, and others, are available in-store at Paragon Sports.

Frog and bamboo photos courtesy of Dan Cabrera.

Try a Discover Outdoors Guided Day Hike in NYC

Two weekends ago, I finally accomplished one of my big goals for the winter: Bring friends on a day hike.

It happened quite by accident. Back in January, I received a Vital Juice email advertising a Sunday hike and organic farm tour.

Farmers market veggies

It may be important to mention that my second love, after the great outdoors, is farm-fresh food. On any given Saturday, you will find me at the closest farmers market. I've been a member of a community-supported agriculture (CSA) group for two years, and I've loved every minute and every vegetable of it. Sometimes, during particularly stressful moments of New York City living, a small part of me even dreams of running away to join the WWOOF program.

So, I jumped at the chance to combine two of my favorite things. The hike and farm tour was being offered by Discover Outdoors (formerly known as Outdoor Bound), a New York company that leads day trips, weekend excursions, and international adventures. I booked my ticket online and sent an email to my friends. My dear friends, always up for trying new things, reserved the last spots on the trip. I was thrilled!

5 miles and feeling good

The Hike
Everyone met at Union Square at 9 a.m., and we piled into a van: 12 hikers and 1 Discover Outdoors guide. It was a beautifully sunny, if bitingly cold, day.

The van took us up to the Reeves Meadow Visitor Center at Harriman State Park, N.Y. (map) From there, we did a 5-mile loop to Pine Meadow Lake. The lake served as our halfway point, where we stopped for a picnic lunch.

The trail was well-worn and fairly flat. The only challenging bit was a stretch of moraine that had us picking our way around boulders and over loose rocks. We finished our hike before 1 p.m., and we piled back in the van for the next leg our trip.

Decomposing compost heats
the pipes on these
seedling tables

The Farm
Next, we headed over to Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Tarrytown, N.Y., a 25-minute drive across the river (map). Stone Barns was originally a dairy farm owned by J.D. Rockefeller—in a response to milk pasteurization, Rockefeller wanted a private source of raw milk for his family. (The debate over pasteurized milk versus raw milk continues today.) Now, Stone Barns is a four-season sustainable farm and educational program; it is also a direct supplier to the famous Blue Hill Restaurant. We took a tour of the farm, seeing everything from rotating animal fields to compost-fueled heating systems. Best of all, we had time to grab fresh snacks from the farm café.

The van got us back to Union Square by 5:30 p.m. By that point, I think we were all ready for a hot and hearty dinner and a good night's sleep.

Recommendation: Perfect first adventure
While the Discover Outdoor programs can be pricey, they provide excellent opportunities for first-time hikers. There's no need to worry about transportation, planning, or getting lost. All you need to do is pack a lunch and get yourself to the meeting point in New York City! Discover Outdoors also does a great job of explaining what to wear and what to bring. Grab a friend and check out one of their upcoming adventures.

Survival Mondays and Adventure Fridays

Yes, sometimes life can even get the best of an Outside City Girl. The final weeks of fall slipped away in tepid rain showers, but I still have big dreams for my boots and this blog.

In the coming weeks, you can expect to see a regular schedule of posts. For now, these quick little posts will fall into the following categories:

1. Survival Mondays: how-to guides, choosing gear, fun facts 
2. Local Wednesdays: events at NYC retail locations, bars, and nonprofits 
3. Adventure Fridays: weekend trip ideas or stories from previous adventures 

Please send me your questions and ideas! Need some inspiration for a local trip? Stumped by an overwhelming choice of brightly colored rain jackets? Still really nervous about that one thing that keeps you from forgoing the city for the woods? Let me know!