I went camping this past Labor Day weekend and bagged three more of the official 48 four-thousand footers in NH, increasing my current total to seven (I did Mt. Hancock and Mt. Osceola almost exactly two years ago on Labor Day weekend of 2007). I hadn’t planned the trails I would hike and it wasn’t until I started reading the trail book that I decided to start tackling the official list of 48. Two posts with details of the hikes will follow this one over the next two days.
Shortly after arriving at my campsite, I accidentally discovered my point-and-shoot camera (an Olympus 770sw) had a macro-mode that allowed me to take some incredible closeups. As you can see from the various flower pictures, I had fun with it (look for more awesome closeups on my last hike when that gets posted).
My excursion lasted four days and three nights, Saturday afternoon through Tuesday morning. The trip was incredibly relaxing and invigorating, more so than I expected. After my second hike on Monday my feet were very, very sore. I pulled off the road, walked down to the river, took off my shirt and shoes, and walked out into the middle of the river. I found a big flat rock and laid in the sun with my bare feet soaking the cold water. It was awesome.
For several days after I returned, I felt strangely different. Relaxed, yes, but also connected — connected to everything around me and at total peace. It was a deep inner relaxation and peace. Why didn’t I feel that way every time I returned from camping? The last time I remembered feeling like that I had also been gone for three nights, so perhaps that had something to do with it. Or maybe I was able to relax a little more than usual because I had made it clear to everyone that I was really going to be off-the-grid and unavailable. Whatever the case, it was incredible. If three nights can do that much, I can’t help but wonder what six months hiking the Appalachian Trail must do to a person.
