Merry Meet and Merry Part, and Merry Meet again

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Winter Camping in the Adirondacks

My son Nicarus went winter camping with his best friend. They spent two nights in the Adirondack woods of New York. The first night the temperature was 8 degrees F with winds blowing against their little tent.



They built a fire gathering the fuel from fallen logs and branches, thanking the trees for their gift. It was the only light for miles around. The stillness, the quiet must have been almost deafening.

Nicarus ready for a day of hiking
They walked across a narrow wooden bridge over a frozen pond, leading to a path through pines and birches, oak and other dense forest growth.

The path opened up into a view of a frozen expanse of lake surrounded by the forest, with mountains in the distance. One can imagine how beautiful in the other seasons this spot is, summer green, autumn glory. In winter it seems stark, gray, lonely.  A silent place, frozen in time, but with an austere beauty that lends itself to  deep thoughts and philosophical stirrings.

A tree adapts and grows around a massive, ancient boulder
I love and revere nature with all my heart and soul. It is an integral part of my religion. I am proud of my son and his friend for their intrepid undertaking of three days and two nights in a harsh, cold environment. Where they met with an unforgiving landscape of snow and ice and came through unscathed and inspired to meet other challenges. And looking forward to doing this again.

I, on the other hand, would never even think once about camping in the cold icy wilderness. I will find my inspiration from the comfort of a cozy chair, by the fireplace, with a hot cup of tea. In this case, there is absolutely nothing wrong with living vicariously!!  Thank you Nick, for inspiring me!

8 comments:

Jeanne said...

How cool! (no pun intended) I might have tried camping in the winter several decades ago...but now I, too, prefer my armchair.
Thanks for sharing their trip with us. :0)

Anonymous said...

I agree about the no camping. To me, "roughing it" is staying at a hotel with no room service.

I'm sayin'.

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful place! I would love to walk around there, but camp in winter? No, no :-) :-) :-)

Have a great day now!
Christer.

mxtodis123 said...

Beautiful pictures, beautiful place, but I couldn't do it. Not in this cold. Brrrr!!!! But, of course, they are young and can take a lot more than I can. LOL!!!
Mary

Sharlene T. said...

To everything, there is a season... and, I am definitely in my reflection period, next to the fire, sipping a spot of cocoa touched with homemade Brandy... but, it's nice, too, to know that the younger generation is as intrepid as we were in our youth... Come visit when you can and don't forget to check out my other blog, Rockin' Chair Reflections for a special Christmas miracle story...

Unknown said...

Well, I'm proud of Nick and his camping. I am NOT a camper, hiker type. Good for him and his adventurous nature.

Strell said...

Beautiful and peaceful. I, too, consider a warm fire, a loving dog and hubby sitting and enjoying a warm hot chocolate. Congrats to the two brave souls who are adventurous and wonderful.

Unknown said...

It sounds unanimous. Nick, you're nuts, but we all admire the heck out of you for it! :)