In the Shadow of Marcy

As May 20th has come and gone, there is only one month left until the Boys' camping trip of 2012; a return to the Adirondacks. Well, a return for all of them, and a first venture for me. The lead-up to this, compared to the Dakotas trip of last year, is very different for me.

For the Dakotas I planned, ordered trail guide books, prowled hiking websites, created packing lists, fiddled with my gear, and just generally basked in the glow of the impending trip. This year... not so much so. And I'm not really sure why not. It's not that I need this trip any less than last year's. If anything, work has been way more stressful recently than it was at any point in recent memory, and not having been to the Adirondacks before, it is not that the thrill of a new place to see is any less relevant. Perhaps I am missing the thrill of a trip that requires flying. A trip to some place very significantly different from what the world looks like around here. Perhaps I am feeling guilty about missing my little one's birthday. Perhaps the first trip of this sort is the one that really gets the juices flowing. I don't know. Maybe it's just that I am so darn busy that it's hard to claim the intellectual and emotional real estate to get excited about anything right now. I suspect that is it more than anything.

Whatever the case may be, I do have prep work to do. I haven't needed any quantity of hiking/camping clothing since a year ago, so I need to inventory what I have and see if I need anything. Rain gear is always important on a trip of any length, but much more so in the Adirondacks than in the Black Hills and Badlands. As I have noted before, I could use a mini LED camp lantern (just because). And I still would like to look at camp cooking gear. Again, just because.

I'm also concerned about brother Dave. I did something to my back a couple of weeks ago that basically immobilized me for a day or two, but it was muscular and passed fairly quickly with no lingering effects. My familial Aikido master has done something to his back that is more concerning, as it doesn't seem to want to go away. I worry (as I am sure does he) about his ability to enjoy this trip fully. But we have 5 weeks to go and will hope for the best.

So, at this point, 29 days until blast off, and hopefully that special something, whatever it is, will be arriving shortly.