 kmccarthy, Tue, September 8th, 2009 There's nothing like being in the great outdoors for a few days to refresh and renew the spirits - and leave you with a sense of undying gratitude for the man who invented flush toilets and hot showers. Labor Day weekend marked the fifth annual Wilderness Camping Trip for Cormac and me, along with my brother-in-law Michael and his son Tadhg. This trip evolved from one to Thompsons Lake six years ago that included spouses. Caitlin made it one more year to the first really roughing it trip, but Chris has forever declared he'll spend as much time outdoors as the rest of us, but he's sleeping in a clean bed at night. So those of us willing to forsake all conveniences have hung in there, and this year we went for a second time to Painter Creek in Moosic, PA, to a perfect clearing next to a bubbling stream and with a fire ring. 17-year-old Cormac carried in a heavier pack than I this year, and 9-year-old Tadhg looked like he managed all his clothes. Each year brings Michael and me closer to the goal he set a few years ago: Let the boys carry increasingly heavy packs until we just carry in lawn chairs, then sit around and say how much better it was in the old days. These old days are pretty great, and we sought to say why we like it, when so many people don't. We like the silence of no cell phones, no Internet, no TV. We like that the day is largely about cooking, cleaning up and figuring out what to eat next. We wondered that we didn't miss the comforts of home too much, but Michael nailed that one. There's always so much that could be done at home that the house often feels like an indictment. I like mucking about the stream, watching Tadhg leap from rock to rock, and how he and Cormac laugh and chat about things like Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z, the age distance between them erased through the bond of cousinhood and nature's power. I like building a fire as evening fades to dark and waiting for the stars to peek through the leafy trees. I loved listening to the owl in the distance, and worrying just a little about what we decided was thunder in the far-off distance. I love the ambition Michael and I have: to someday hike the Appalachian trail, which gives us pause about how much stuff we brought on this trip. But mostly, it's just great to be outside, away from everything, lulled to sleep at night by the sound of the creek and the steady chirp of crickets and frogs. CATEGORY: General Society
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