If you give a girl a backpack, she's going to ask to go on a hike.

You will agree to join her on the first weekend of autumn and she will begin to plot out the perfect route. However, you will be asked to bring the snacks.

When you show up with the agreed upon food items, she will realize that she needs a bear bag. Upon grabbing the designated sack, she will notice that she does not have an appropriate length rope. She will request that you stop at an outdoors store on the way to the mountain to procure some.

When you stop to purchase the rope, she'll realize she needs to fill up her water bottle which is in the depths of her pack. After ensuring proper hydration, you both will continue on to the trailhead but when you arrive, she will realize that her pack is now out of order and she must re-pack it.

She will be quite pleased with herself and will stare you down as you finish shoving the random assortment of items left for you to somehow fit into your pack. As soon as you hint at being ready, she will take off down the trail, up and down the rocky hills, in betwixt the trees, and over a drying brook or two. All this activity will start to make her stomach grumble. She will ask to stop for dinner.

You will bust out your assortment of snacks – burgers, gouda, olives, cherry tomatoes, grapes – which she will graciously devour and then be ready to take off down the trail once again. But as the sun begins to set and the food starts to digest, she will start to get sleepy. You will have to set up camp.

But before the tent can be pitched, she’ll remember that the bear bag must be hung. She has watched a video on this. How hard could it be? She will expect you to take the lead on setting it up. Repeated throws and snorts of laughter later, the bag will be properly elevated and secure.

The tent will quickly follow suit and soon you will be all snug in your sleeping bag for some much needed sleep. But now she will be wide-awake. She will ask you to play cards. You will strongly encourage her to enjoy a game of solitaire but to your dismay you will be suddenly awakened 10+ hours later to her gently prodding you to get up and catch what is left of the sunrise.

She will quickly dismantle the tent as you curse the cold morning air while you finish packing up your things. At least you will happily discover the bear bag set-up remained intact and unconsumed. As you hand off the food to be shoved into her pack, she will mention that she might want some breakfast.

As you hike farther down the trail, her comments regarding her stomach will become more frequent. When you suggest taking a break, she will have to find the perfect spot. She will climb up to the tippy top of the hill and just when she reaches the ledge, she will notice that some other people also thought this was the perfect spot… to relieve themselves. She will scurry back to where you are still standing and declare a new perfect spot. In the middle of the trail.

She will want to make sure you enjoy your breakfast, so she will offer to make you a cup of tea. While she is making yours, she will also make one for herself. With caffeine.

As you sit and enjoy your meal, she will see other hikers making their way down the trail. Because you are seated in the middle of it. Smack dab in the middle of it. She will want to get back on the trail.

As you scramble to follow her highly caffeinated self, she will become ever more distracted with all the sights and sounds. She'll want to check out the various trees and critters. She will want you to investigate them too. As you both take in all that nature has to offer, she will continue to lead you down into the woods. You will mention how you much you love this backpacking excursion and also state that you wish the trail would start to incline.

When you reach an unanticipated road and parking lot, she will realize that she has missed a turn. You will have to turn around and backtrack a half mile with 1000 feet of elevation gain. You will regret your previous statements.

She will quickly climb back up the trail and find the correct trail hidden by a missing marker. She will claim it does not count as getting lost. When you ask her if she wants to check the path with the GPS, she will tell you no. Thirty seconds later she will become nervous about going the wrong way and not making it back on time. She will ask you if she can check it. And then she’ll ask you to check again a few minutes later as she continues to lead you lead up to the top of the mountain and then down back into the woods. She will take you through a valley of boulders and eventually meandering down a gently graded, pebbly path toward where you started.

As you near the end of the trail and approach the meadow that leads you back to the car, you’ll mention how it was a perfect weekend adventure. To which she will reply – when can we go on a hike?

notes:

if you live in the nyc area, get your bum to harriman state park/bear mountain. the weather was perfect this past weekend for all kinds of exploring and for you leafers out there, it's almost prime foliage spectating season. you can read more about this area here and about backpacking here.

i know. i sometimes call them hills and i sometimes call them mountains. while they're named mountains, it is a bit of a misnomer to those of you who have experienced the 10k+ variety of the west.

and yes, this post is very much based on if you give a mouse a cookie by laura numeroff.

As soon as I took the last exam for my summer semester, I drove my well-packed vehicle north into the mountains. While my recent return to school has been better than what I anticipated, life lately has still been ridiculously busy. By the end of finals, I knew I would be due for life away from computer screens so I coordinated time off from work with time off from school and made the 6+ hour drive to New York’s Adirondack Park.

My extended family has an annual summer tradition of descending on the North Woods. As each of us winds our way down one of my favorite wooded paths to the designated campsites we will call home for the next week, a regression occurs. The past weaves in and out with the present and we all fall back into the familiar rhythms of lovingly harassing one another through the routine of sleep, eat, play, repeat. The sheer number of bug bites and bruises on my body attest to this undeniable fact about family vacations.

Time has a funny way of nonlinearity when family traditions are involved. We run and scamper, and poke and prod, and tease and tangle our way back into the familiarity of unchanging relationships. I am yours and you are mine and I will love you until the end of time. Isn't that the rhyming vow of all families? Sure the attendance may vary a bit from year to year as relationships begin and turn into marriages, extraneous commitments take precedence, and the traveling to a place where there is no longer a living family member at times seem a bit too much to bear.

But even with the hubbub and the schlepping and the rigmarole of it all, this yearly ritual is an utmost necessity. We play games both old and new, tell mostly true stories, and go on the most epic of adventures. We stay up late, endearing ourselves to our neighbors with our deafening laughter well past the quiet hours curfew. We sneak out onto the lake in the middle of the night for just one more glimpse of the Milky Way and maybe even just one more shooting star.

This tradition did not begin with my generation but I will do everything in my power to ensure that it sticks around for the next one. There is something undeniably magically about intentionally gathering together year after year in this little piece of the woods we claim as our own. Something that I hope to experience with this family of mine for a very long time.

notes:

- there are many places to lay claim to in new york’s adirondack park, including public and private campgrounds. we stay near tupper lake as per tradition and fortunately it is also an ideal locale since it provides easy access to the tri-lakes area for a variety of hiking/paddling opportunities as well as rainy day adventures.

- related to the above note: if you happen to be in the area and looking for mild outdoorsy/rainy day activities check out the wild center or the lake placid olympic sites. we checked out the ski jumps which host extreme summer tubing during the latter half of the week. sadly, we visited on a tuesday but fear not; we have big plans in place for next year.

- my big brother got engaged to one of my favorite people while we were camping. krissy has been a voting member of the family for many years but i am ridiculously excited for them to make it all official. obviously my excitement is not real unless i announce it onthe interwebs. obviously.