Good List Week 12
Wow, it's been 3 months of good lists, and I am feeling accomplished for maintaining such consistency in this project. I also feel that the level of adventure is increasing over time, no small thanks to working the Artist's Way throughout.
Mount Tammany
Having read about the Delaware Water Gap in A Walk in the Woods, I beat myself up for having never visited. This week I remedied the matter by hiking Mount Tammany on the red and blue trails. The day started with panic: I became convinced that going in the middle of the week, I'd be the only person on the trail, and therefore guaranteed to be eaten by a vicious bear. I accepted the fear, I reached out to a friend who hikes a lot, and with reassurance in hand, I ventured out west.
I had been warned the hike was steep, but I had to experience it to understand: the climb up is tough, it's about 1200 feet gain over a mile. I practiced taking breaks, extra breaks, breaks every couple hundred feet. I felt a little like the tortoise in the old story, as I leap-frogged other hikers who pushed through, ultimately beating them to the top.
The views were spectacular, and I faced even more fear by winding down the rock ledge at the overlook. I had packed a sandwich and coconut water, which tasted all the more delicious with mountain climbing accomplishment for dressing. After some rest, I took the trail back down, which was in some ways more challenging, as the going was rocky the whole way down - I rolled my ankle once, thankfully no more damage than a little soreness the rest of the day. I paused at the stream and falls near the end of the trail, and plopped back into my car and happily drove home - hitting a rainstorm no more than five minutes away! The day really lucked out: clear weather in the 70s, plenty of folks on the trail, no bears (the worst was grasshoppers jumping on me, haha).
With Mount Tammany hiked, I can mark the Appalachians / Water Gap on my map.
Drumming
My girlfriend had suggested we visit a recording studio with drum rentals - I like the percussion of playing drums, and had never in my life sat down to play a drum set! She's an experienced drummer, so with her as instructor and me as mostly attentive student, we went to Angry Papa studios in Wallington, NJ. For $20/hr, we got to jam out to our heart's contents, me trying to get the rhythm of syncing the kick drum with drum sticks, and Maria showing me up with her skills.
I had a blast, the two hours flew by, I don't think I have any natural talent on the drums, but I am learning that I do like playing music, and can follow a basic beat on an instrument. I next want to get an intro guitar lesson from a friend, as part of a musical tour, before settling down and investing more serious effort into learning one instrument well.
Catskills
My friend moved to Sullivan County in the Catskills about a year ago, and I dragged my feet on visiting until this past weekend - and how silly do I feel! The area is stunningly beautiful, covered in trees and filled with exciting wildlife. It took about 90 minutes to drive up, a peaceful and easy drive, punctuated by the loss of NPR on 93.9 and poor reception for the Catskills public radio on 90.5. We started at Mamakating Environmental Education Center, or MEEC for short, which is a charming building nestled into Basha Kill Wildlife Refuge. There were binoculars positioned to view woodpeckers nesting in a nearby tree, I was lucky enough to see the baby poking its head out. A local artist is working on a residency project, stitching a mandala with colored layers from the birds observed in the area.
We then went to Basha Kill proper, an incredible sight, the valley carved out by glaciers some millennia ago. Onward to lunch at Brew in Rock Hill, where I feasted on delicious bbq cauliflower "wings" and an impressive veggie burger. Then to the next adventure, hiking at the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River park, on the lookout for bald eagles. My friend is spectacularly lucky to have bald eagles nesting outside his apartment! We spotted the baby in the nest, but hoped to find an adult on the Delaware. We spotted a juvenile, maybe one or two years old, feathers not fully developed but white underbelly clear. We soaked our shoes in the water tramping about trying to get a better view.
There was a troupe of kayakers on the river, and it made me dream of a weekend long kayak and camping trip down the river. Then I thought, how would my back feel sitting in a kayak all day? Well, maybe it'll feel just fine :)
Side note: the Good List Visualizer has been updated to include these new entries.