Taking A Hike
My getaway for the past few summers has been a ‘camp’ in the Adirondack Mountains. It is a series of rustic cabins scattered around an old farmhouse, with a raging little river running adjacent. The guests eat breakfast and dinner together at long tables. The camp, surrounded by the high peaks, has no cellphone service and very limited internet access.
It is my time to eschew technology, to reset and embrace all things analogue. I will take a couple of books, my journal and fountain pen, and sketchbook. (My phone becomes an alarm clock and occasionally a camera.) It is a quiet time, but not a silent one. I usually book a week in early July, when guests come to play old music every evening after dinner. Conversations are entertaining, amusing and often informative.
The camp has been a destination for revivification since the 19th century. One gentleman, a retired college professor, told me he’d been coming to the camp since he was five years old. In fact, the visitors book from 1919 has signatures from famous guests: Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Sandor Ferenczi.
Ultimately it is a time to be in Nature. Let me leave you with an anecdote from last year:
Last July, when my son and I were driving to the Adirondacks, we made our way into New York at quiet border crossing. The thirtysomething immigration officer asked where we were going. I said we were hiking the Adirondack High Peaks.
Which ones? he asked.
I thought he was quizzing me to see if we were really going hiking. It made me a little anxious. I named two or three mountains we’d likely climb
“Ok,” he said, “but don’t let them make you hike Gothics! My cousin told me we were going for a ‘little walk.’ It almost killed me!”
14 comments
Hi Peter,
Wondered if you were still in business and found you online. Great photos and enjoyable reading! Hope you and your family are all well.
Love from your cousin,
Lesli
Lesli Musicar
Please tell me the name of the camp so I can go too!
Sara cohen
Thank you for sharing Peter have a wonderful time.
Dominic Conforti
Peter, that sounds like a magical place to escape to for a recharge, My personal camp is a small housekeeping resort north of Highway 60 somewhere between Huntsville and Algonquin Park and I head there annually at the end of September/early October to go hiking in the area and photographing the landscapes, hopefully timing it right with fall colours.
Bill Smith
Fabulous!
Mildred Davis
Dear Peter,
Is it really 30 years since I first set foot in your beautiful store and watched your young son scampering around? It’s thrilling to know your’re still sourcing and selling the beautiful and the purposeful. As I approach 80 and find my hand not quite as steady, I can still use my Lamy collection, gathered at Laywines over the years. Thank goodness you haven’t completely abandoned technology or I would be unable to see all your gorgeous pieces. Love the pencils. Long may nature fortify your spirit. Love moi
Paula Chabanais
Thank you for sharing ✨ Loved reading it. It’s more often we should come down to earth…
:)
Xanthi Hliaropoulos
Enjoy your special time, in a special place, with a special purpose-revitalization!
Maxine
Simply beautiful, nature and one. A happy place like yours can be hard to find. Thank you for sharing.
Lisa Humer
Happy Hiking Peter, so smart to unplug and be outside…and perhaps journal your thoughts after a day of hiking?
sally Pitfield
I lived in upstate NY my whole life and moved to MS 4 years ago. The Adirondacks were part of summers and winters alike..beautiful and so peaceful. It warms my heart to hear someone who has beautiful scenery of their own choose the Adirondacks to visit. Thank you for sharing.
Pamela Bourassa
Thanks for this, A reprieve from everything your brief story isn’t.
Michael
What a wonderful camp to relax at and enjoy the summer! Can you give me the name of this retreat.
Thank you.
Marthe
Marthe Yolleck
Peter, you look as comfortable perched on a rock as you do behind a counter of pens and inks! Thank you for this glimpse into your summer. It sounds wonderful.
Dorothea Hudec
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