Unpredictable

Kittatinny Mountains, New Jersey - July, 2013

View of the Delaware River Gap from Mount Tammany.

I've just come back from yet another excursion to New Jersey's Appalachia with my sister, Chloe, and my dearest fellows Tomek and Eric. We'd initially planned to do 20 or so miles of hiking, from Mount Tammany to Blue Mountain Lake, over the course of two days. As anyone in the Northeast who was around this weekend would expect, we were ultimately overcome by the heat and humidity and had to call it quits after just 12 miles on our first day (Tammany to Catfish Pond).

The weekend was not a loss, dear reader! While we were unable to camp where we expected, while we hiked later into the day than we meant, and although we didn't conquer the second half of our journey, it was ultimately a successful weekend, by all regards. We got to attend a wonderful gathering, full of Tomek's ever-gracious friends, we had a nice spot to camp on, and we spent

Sunday swimming at Blue Mountain Lake. Plus there were blueberries...oh were there blueberries.

The point is that, when you're hiking, you've got to be able to roll with changes in your itinerary. Set a plan, of course, but don't lose faith when everything goes awry. You've got to embrace the unexpected and make the most of it. Half the fun is in the unexpected, the unknown. If all goes according to plan, then doesn't everything just feel a bit more sterile? Nature is not sterile; it is dirty, mean and -- moreover -- it is unpredictable. You've just got to go with it. Otherwise, stay at home and watch TLC.

This is America, people. Dream big and go hard.


Hope you all had a grand 4th of July weekend.