Having just posted a recent set of images from a weekend of hiking in the Adirondack High Peaks, I couldn’t help but reminisce about the trip.  I’ve found myself being pulled back to the area more and more over the past few years, for reasons becoming more obvious.  The overwhelming serenity and peace I get from being in the middle of the woods carrying everything I need to live on my back is awesome.  Everything becomes incredibly simple, as the only thing you are concerned about are your basic needs: food, water, shelter.  Everything else just falls away.

The inherent beauty of the land, of course, is the main attraction (very evident in my photos).  But the people you meet (depending on what area of the HP you’re in) are also incredible, too.  Where else do you stop, say hi, and have a brief conversation with every person you meet?  There is a hidden, yet very present, commonality between everyone: a love of nature and the serenity that comes with the land.

Even though it probably won’t be for many months, I look forward to my next adventure in the Adirondacks.  Undoubtedly this feeling will well up into a pressing urge by the time I’m back in the states.