Being an Eagle Scout, I am no stranger to the great outdoors. But having lived the past nine years in the concrete jungle of NYC with no car, Mother Nature and I have been distant old friends for way too long now.
After a ten-year hiatus I went camping this weekend at Bear Mountain, bringing my girlfriend Maribel along with me for her first wilderness overnighter. I don’t mean fake camping, where you drive 100 ft past the latrine up to your spot, drop a tent next to the car and watch the game with your buddies on a mini-TV. That to me is just cheap accommodations. By camping I mean backpacking. Leave the car in the lot, hike several miles into the mountains, pitch a tent and poop in the woods. You should be far enough away from people that no one can hear your screams. Otherwise the scary stories don’t have the same effect. 
I knew the trail I wanted to hike, the location I wanted to stay at each night, the food I wanted to prepare and the story I wanted to tell. Other than that, what we did the rest of the time was a great, big, question mark.
So, why did I leave a cozy home, Siggy’s Good Food and indoor plumbing behind to carry 40lbs. of gear up a mountain, sit in the woods for three days and freeze my butt off for two nights? And why did I feel compelled to drag my girlfriend along with me (other than the fact that it was her car getting me to the mountain)? Was it for the exercise? Nah. Was it to look macho in front of my woman? Couldn’t hurt, but no.
It was to reconnect. Reconnect with my body as I navigated over the terrain. Reconnect with nature as it engulfed me. And reconnect with Maribel as the distractions our everyday lives became more distant. This last point ended up being the most important part of the weekend.
The past two months have been rough ones for me. Life has whipped a few curve balls my way and one caught me in the head, leaving me feeling deflated and defeated. In the past, I would not have shared such troubles with anyone. Instead I’d put up a façade and avoided intimacy with friends and lovers until I felt I had put myself back together. But my silence during the first day’s hike weighed on each of us more than any of the gear we were carrying. We needed to talk.
Thankfully, Maribel has always put me at ease in regards to sharing subjects that previously were very loaded for me. So I took a risk and exposed my insecurities to her as well as my fears of sharing such in the first place. In doing so I learned two big lessons. It is OK to share these feelings with close friends and family. But most importantly, they would probably love the opportunity to be there for me.
Now sitting at home, it is obvious that my aching legs had a great workout. But I can’t help but be convinced that the healthiest part of this weekend was learning that what I saw as an emotional burden that I did not want to place on others could actually be an opportunity to let others get closer to me. In fact, learning that lesson was probably the healthiest thing I’ve done all year.
Jamie Dreyer is the President of Further Fitness.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
October 20th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Jamie,
It was a wonderful experience being introduced to nature through backpacking and camping in the dangerous and treacherous mountain terrain of Bear Mountain in upstate NY. Although I consider myself a pretty active, exercise conscious individual, I must admit the thought of lugging a ton of gear, food & water on my back (ok, you carried most of it), to a site that did not even provide a port-a-potty, let alone some heat or running water, I thought there is no way I would come out of this weekend becoming one of those “nature loving freaks” who would leave the comforts of home to sleep under the stars.
After spending the previous weeks planning this excursion with you, “the expert”, my biggest question was, “What do we do when we get there?”. That was the only thing you explained that is not planned. We would find out when we get there.
Well, when we got there, we hiked for what seemed to be hours (maybe 1 1/2) with 2 ton backpacks (ok, mine was maybe 20 lbs and yours was 40). I must admit, the beautiful foliage and scenery did distract me a bit from the discomfort of my aching feet and sore shoulders. Then we set up camp. We hiked to a lake, filtered water for drinking, (mostly for you - I was too yellow-bellied to try it), we lit a fire, we cooked (ok, you did that), we ate. Now what? It was too dark to go exploring and it was way too cold to leave the comfort of that roaring fire. You tried to tell a scary story (you are much better with humor, it sounded more like a news commentary). So again, now what?
It was only about 8 o’clock in the evening. If we were still in the city, we could have gone to see a show, see a movie, go for dessert, see some friends, people watch, the list could go on and on. Well, I thought again, “Now what? How are you going to “wow” me that would make all this work to be here worth it?”
But as we sat together with absolutely no other distractions other than trying to get as close to the fire without singeing all of our facial hair off, we had no other choice than to connect. With nature, with ourselves, and with each other. You didn’t have to “wow” me. The “wow” factor came quietly, sweetly and effortlessly. It was there in our conversation. It was there in the way we worked together to set up camp, build the fire and cook our absolutely delicious meals. And it was there every time we stopped and stood silently, holding hands, taking in the beauty of the nature that surrounded us.
After spending 3 days in the “wilderness” sleeping in a 3 season tent that clearly was not sufficient for those two bitterly cold nights, I now know why people become “hooked” on hiking and camping to reconnect with nature and most importantly, themselves.
Do I now consider myself one of those “nature loving freaks” who would leave the hustle and bustle of the city to hike in the woods and do nothing? I would like to think that after this experience I have grown that much. But this I know for absolutely certainty, I would recommend this for anyone who is feeling burnt out from their every day lives. This would do their body, mind and spirit a world of good.
Thank you Jamie Dreyer for exposing me to a new kind of exercise and relaxation!
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:27 am
Jamie, enjoyed reading about your hiking experience. Nicely written, too.
November 17th, 2008 at 9:19 am
[…] Maribel and I were at LA Fitness last Tuesday for a light workout when I was racking our weights and saw a frightening sight in the reflection of the mirror. No, not myself thank you. It was some guy in his early 20’s deadlifting. This guy’s form was so bad! Most people can’t even get that degree of flexion out their lumbar spines in yoga class. This guy was doing it with 405lbs.! How could I remain quiet? My ethics would not allow it. If me taking two minutes to talk with him about proper form could save his disc from exploding out of his back, tearing through his American Eagle t-shirt and claiming a passerby’s eyeball as collateral damage, then I was bound to do the right thing. So I did. He acted as though I were invisible to him, not even giving me eye contact or a polite thank you. So rude! I walked away silently wishing the explosion beneath his shirt would take place as soon as I was far enough away not to get hit by any frag. Then he would understand. No such luck. […]
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:10 am
[…] spent this past Thanksgiving with Maribel and her family. The twelve of us at the dinner table reminded me of the warm, loud holiday […]
January 5th, 2009 at 10:44 am
[…] changed the topography of my year where camping for the first time in a decade with Maribel (Mountains and Valley, Highs and Lows), working with clients in Las Vegas for two months (Rough Ride On the River) and launching Blog […]