Good morning, Hubski. I'm seated in an airplane, wearing tights under my hiking pants, unshaven, with dirty hiking boots. I got TSAPre today, which was awesome because I could keep my boots on. A layover in Detroit, then land in Albany, fill up my water bottles at the airport, get my rental car, stop for stove fuel, get lunch, then two hours to a trailhead, three to four hours hiking to a campsite. If all goes to plan, I'll be spending the next two nights in a lean-to. Weather is cold overnight. We'll see how that goes. But no rain or wind are in the forecast. If I'm being honest, I'm a little scared. I act a little tough, like nothing really phases me, but it's a facade. It'll be fine; I don't mean for that to sound alarming. I just wanted to say it out loud. I weighed my backpack on Friday, and it was a hair over 40 pounds. I added a couple things since then, so I'm probably around 41-42 pounds. That's ten pounds more than the bag I used last summer, but I've also lost ten pounds since then. I'm optimistic. I think.
I started thinking about doing a solitude trip. So far I've been doing summit hikes. These tend to be around other people (who are generally the best people you'll meet but still a crowd). But mid-week in a less popular area I bet I could hide from the world for days and see only trees and birds and just sit quietly in the woods. I grew up car camping. It took until my 30s to realize one can get out in the woods and be entirely alone. I'm a fan.