The Fun Starts Before You Go

They say the devil is in the details, but I've come to think the fun is there too. Over the years, as I've gotten more and more into being an outdoorsman, I've found that some of my favorite parts of the experience happen before I ever get there. The planning, the preparation, the scouting, the gear—sometimes I think about the actual trip more than I actually spend on it.

Planning

I spend hours every week scanning the OnX app, NYSDEC Info Locator, and other maps for potential spots to check out. I look for public land, water access, trails, and primitive camp sites. This may be because i’m one of those weirdos that loves staring at maps. But it also helps to understand what options you have, and luckily we live in a country with a lot of options. Here in New York, the DEC Info Locator is a great tool that allows you to filter the map by almost anything you’re looking to do. I was able to find a great primitive campsite on a stocked river in a remote area. We caught trout all weekend. 

Preparing

This is where more people can relate. Buying the gear you need, scouting the land you want to hunt, or just working out to make sure you’re fit enough to embark on the adventure, all of it has to take place before you go. I’m not much of a shopper, but the exception is when it comes to outdoor gear. My doom scrolling is done on Sierra, the Sitka outlet, and REI. I may not be the most successful game harvester, but man do I look the part. 

Once the gear is delivered, then it’s time to organize. My fly box is sectioned by type, color, and size. My firearm cases have more attachments than the manufacturer dreamed possible. And when it is time to hit the road, my truck looks like a prepper was finally proven right and he’s on his way to survive the apocalypse.

Scouting may be a loose use of the term for me. We like to get up to camp in August when the bugs have started to calm down. We clean the porch for morning coffee and breakfast, we take the tractor out on the trails to clear fallen trees and spruce up our shooting lanes. Mostly we talk about the additions we’d like to make to camp, like a bunkhouse, that will never happen. We aren’t glassing the mountainside for Elk like you see out west from the pros, but it’s an excuse to get out to the place we love and enjoy a bonus weekend around a campfire. 

Fitness is key for an outdoorsman. I can’t sit here and say I’m a marathon runner or an olympic power lifter. But I do focus on maintaining my strength and stamina throughout the year in order to do what I love in the fall with no limitations. It’s a long game, hunting in your youth isn’t a fitness challenge, but being able to continue to do it into your 70s is dependent on the work you put into your body in your 30s. One run and a few lifts a week has me feeling 18 again when I’m climbing a trail to a stand on the top of a mountain. I don't work out because I want to be the strongest guy at the gym. I work out because I want to be the guy in his 70s who can still climb the mountain.

Anticipation

This is the good stuff, and it doesn’t have to just apply to the outdoors. Having something sharpied on the calendar that is always in the back of your mind for months on end. Group chats talking about where everyone wants to sit on opening day, camp food menu, and drink choices. Checking the weather every 4 hours a week out from a trip. Going back and forth on which trail you want to take to the top. These are what get me through long Wednesdays at the office. The trip itself may only last a day or two, but the anticipation is what gets you through the rest of the week, month, or even year. 

The Experience

All of the anxiousness and daydreaming is worth it when the day finally hits. When you’re traversing a boulder in the middle of a river to get to a deep hole and the line snaps tight, and you look back at your buddy that you see once a year who has his hands up in the air, all that preparation was worth it. You pull that native brook trout out of the water and just stare at it together knowing that you don’t have to solely eat the hot dogs you brought in the cooler. That’s the good stuff.