I’m finding that as I age I prefer my outdoor recreation to be less about suffering and adventure, and more about recreation. Think a nice, sunny walk in the woods on a developed trail compared to a remote bushwhack in the pouring rain. Living in upstate New York allows for this, as even “wild” places are less wild than those from other places I’ve lived, like Wyoming and Montana. That is, unlike in those western states where going for a hike often meant grabbing the bear spray and prepping for a remote trailhead (read: a dead car battery will add many miles to the hike), in the east outdoor spaces are more tame and never too far from roads or houses (relatively speaking). I’ve tried to explain this feeling of less-adventurous outdoor recreation, and landed on the phrase “wanting my recreation to be more recreational.”
From the book Best Day Hikes in the Berkshires the author Rene Laubach says it better with regards to the Berkshire mountains in Western Massachusetts:
The Berkshires are for the most part a rather settled region, so it may surprise some to learn that there remain wild, untamed pockets of woodland and wetland where one can feel far away from it all. Yet, there is enough of a veneer of civilization even in the wildest locations to give one comfort. So in some ways, the Berkshires offer the hiker the best of two worlds. One world provides security, and the other provides the adventure and connection to nature that we all need. I sincerely hope you enjoy these excursions as much as I have.
It’s the difference between going on a mountain bike ride in a remote area, where a mechanical issue could mean a twenty mile hike back to the car vs a riding a trail system tucked into a city park where even bringing a water bottle is unnecessary. Or driving for many miles on remote dirt roads to a trailhead vs passing a fancy Hudson Valley bistro a couple of miles from a trailhead in the Catskills.
I miss living in the mountain west, but city comforts are nice.