When we were kids we covered plenty of ground. Our adventures took place in the woods, from The Old Hotel to some shale outcroppings, just far enough from our neighborhood to make them even more exciting. The deal was sealed for me, standing on top of Gore Mt. looking out into the Adirondack's for the first time. It sent a chill up my spine that I still get 35 years later.
Winters we skied blue ice in the Catskill Mountains. Summer and driving set us loose on in the Catskill Forest. Shokan, Minnewaska, Mohonk, Monguap, Forestburgh, Neversink... Upstate NY is a mountain paradise. Sharon & I lived just below the Shawangunk's where the Basher Kill flows into the Neversink River. Lush woods and cold water.
My closest friends took things a big step further
and moved to Boulder in '77.
Called up to the Majors.
"The Rocky Mountains is the marrow of the world."
Stefan Gierasch shouted out loud in Jeremiah Johnson.
I read about mountain destinations and climbing, I've even been lucky enough to spend time in the Rockies, summer and winter. For 15 years now, our home has been in Southern California. This area is portrayed as a poster child of Inconvenient Truths with good reason. The truth is that in 20 min I can be at multiple trail-heads in two different National Forests staring at exhausting rides. There are 74 peaks between 5,000' and 10,000' in the San Gabriel Mountains. The Santa Ana's and coastal canyons don't rely on numbers, they just amaze and wear you down by the end of the day.
Wayne Dyer had it right in his; Gifts from Eykis...
"Wherever I go, there I am."
Link to Mt Autubon map courtesy Google Maps
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