As I mentioned in my last post, “What is a Microadventure?”, I am trying to get out on an adventure at least once every month this year. January is a difficult time to get outside because here in the northeast, its cold, wet or sometimes freezing. To get outside in the winter you also need a lot of cold weather gear to keep you safe, warm and dry.

I really don’t like the cold and I have made promises to myself in the past that I would never camp in the winter. I put off going on any type of winter trip for a long time but alas the mountains were calling and I couldn’t hang up on them this time. This would be my first backpacking trip since I returned from the Appalachian Trail and my excitement of being outdoors surpassed my fear of freezing to death.

We decided that Harriman State Park in New York was a good location to visit because it is a short drive and it offers a lot of different trails and shelters. After scoping out a map we chose to visit Bald Rocks shelter on the Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail. The shelter is just 1.5 miles from route 601 and another 1.5 miles from an easily accessible parking area.

The Usual Suspects

Sugardaddy

Macaroni

Katniss Neverclean

Joining me on this adventure was my husband Andrew aka “Sugardaddy” and Kyle aka “Mac.” To prepare for the trip my husband and I had to borrow a lot of gear and I was surprised to see how much extra stuff I actually needed. Thanks to some friends who are more experienced in this area, I was quickly schooled and geared up with warmer sleeping bags, gaiters, insulated boots, and a stove among many other things.

We had originally planned to spend two nights at the shelter, but as the Friday of our trip rolled around the temperatures started to drop and it began to snow. The night before, a wind advisory went into effect promising temperatures at the shelter to be around -15 degrees. No thank you.

Saturday morning we packed the car and made the quick drive up to New York. The cold was numbing us as we put on our packs. The 1.5 mile road walk up to the trail was easy and fast. It felt good to feel the weight of my pack and the burn in my legs again. I happily noticed that I hadn’t lost all the physical endurance that I had gained on the AT. When we reached the trail, we were greeted by a foot or more of fluffy white powdery snow. Luckily for us, someone had broken in the path already, and we didn’t have to guess at which way the trail went.

The sun was bright and the sky was super clear as we started our uphill hike. Tramping through the snow was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. It presented a new challenge to hiking and since I had the right equipment I stayed nice and dry.

We reached the shelter around 2pm. After a snack we took to the trail without our packs and explored a bit. When we returned Andrew and Kyle searched for firewood while I cooked dinner. Andrew had brought his hatchet and we had some fun chopping wood.

I was super excited to cook over the fire. On the Appalachian Trail we were always hiking late into the day and had to make quick dinners. I took this opportunity to cook up something really awesome. I cut up potatoes, onions, peppers and kielbasa and threw them into a pot. When it was all done we doused it in Franks Red Hot Sauce and went to town. Amazing.

That night we caught the sunset on a hill just behind the shelter. Even with the temperatures diving into the 10s, it was exhilarating to be outside and in nature again.

The next morning we took our time gathering our things as I cooked up some scrambled eggs and coffee. We were lucky to have some great weather again and made a quick and easy decent back to the car.

More pics from our trip

February’s microadventure is coming up fast and I am looking for a place in the Philadelphia area that’s great for watching the sunrise. If you have any suggestions, leave them below!