Into the Wild

I was delighted to pick up a really snazzy new pair of water shoes on deep, deep discount on Friday afternoon, and I was just about dying to try them out as soon as possible. It is spring and it is starting to feel like it is time to dip these toes into the water. We decided to embark on a quick overnight car-camping expedition to the Quehanna Wild Area on Sunday, and I thought this might just be my big opportunity to try them out.

But in the end, I had to slim down my daysack for what turned out to be a very long day hike, so there wasn't room in it for the water shoes. Fortunately, the streams we crossed were easy ones like this, with big rocks you could just hop across quite easily.

The last time we were in Quehanna, we had agreed that the next time we went there, we would do some exploring and maybe try to find a new campsite. And so we took a different route on this day, and we ended up in a valley that was nearby but seemed much further away. Our explorations took us on a very long walk, about 10 miles (about 16 km) round trip.

By the time we crossed the creek in this photo, we were almost at the furthest point of our hike. My feet were already starting to hurt, in spite of the tough Gore-Tex boots I had on. And I tried my best not to think about it, and kept on going. (Yes, some pictures, you have to earn. And this is one of them.)

Our day trek took us past the coyotes' bone pile and into a nearby valley with a lovely stream among the big rocks. We vowed to explore them on another day. We walked beyond the tamaracks and then back around into an open field with a big spring, which was perking right along on a sunny afternoon in late April.

In the end, we earned our just reward: we found a new campsite on the flat (which is harder to find than you might think in this area) a bit further away, amid a sunny stand of trees. It is in a location that we have looked at often but apparently never really seen. Welcome to the faraway nearby.

The song: Cyndi Lauper, The Faraway Nearby.