Early this week I had the chance to escape the city and do some camping and hiking for a couple of days. I knew this was going to be my one shot to get out of the city for any length of time this summer, so I was determined not to let it slip away. In a frenzy, the essentials of survival were gathered and stuffed in (or lashed onto) my pack. Tent. Water purification tabs. Freeze-dried meals. First Aid Kit. Bear Spray, bear bells, and wildlife horn. Propane stove: I’ll be damned if I’m having cold meals (or foregoing coffee), even in the woods. Mini bottles of rum and Bailey’s: for medicinal reasons.
2 days of my 2.5 day sojourn were cold and wet (cue violins). No matter. The discomfort made the positives that much more incredible by virtue of contrast. No hot cup of coffee is ever as good as the one you drink when you’re chilled to the core. No transient rays of sun are as glorious as the ones that warm your neck after hours of pissing rain. No dram of rum as appreciated as the one that thaws out your frozen insides. And no stellar mountain views are as lovely as the ones you’ve truly had to earn to witness.
The Urban Wilds 