#donalrey

Words and Photos by Donalrey Nieva

The plan for the weekend was to ride to Lake Skenoto, roughly 50 miles north of NYC.  We had a late start and ideally, by this time our, tents would already be set up by the lake.  However, a late start usually means  catching the sunset which I'm usually stoked for.  I was also excited to try out some new bikepacking gear along with my new fishing pole.  As we left the city limits we made sure to take all the dirt roads all the way to the lake.  A quick stop at the grocery store to stock up on some food and next thing you know we were almost at the lake. Perfectly timed, as the sun was just setting.  We made it just before it got dark.  We set up our tents and started a fire.  The fishing poles were brought out but with no luck as expected. This was my first time fishing after all.  Good thing we didn't count on that for dinner.  Luckily, Ronnie had brought with him some carnitas he had sous vied the night before.  It was hands down the best camp food I've had.  We couldn't have asked for a better weather, the air was perfectly chilly, and the camp fire was invitingly warm.  That night we slept good under the open sky.  The next morning, as the early fog was rolling out, we made our fire and cooked a quick breakfast. Another 30 miles and we made it to Peekskill  before noon to catch the train back to the city.  It was the perfect weekend get away!

Check out the photos here: http://www.outershelladventure.com/blog/2016/6/23/nyc-to-the-appalachian-trail

Words and Photos by Donalrey Nieva

It's been a while since I've done a multi day bike camping trip.  A few emails between my good buddies/teammate, Seth and Dave, and we were off on a nice long weekend adventure.  The plan was to make our way to Connecticut and over to Massachusetts.  Seth had researched a nice shelter along the Appalachian Trail a top Mount Everett that seemed like a perfect spot set up camp. 

Seth picked me up at work Friday evening and we hustled through 60 miles to Cold Springs where we had planned to meet Dave.  We made good timing and arrived just as soon as the train arrived.  A quick stop to the deli to pick up some dinner and drinks and we headed down a trail not too far from the town.  A few miles on the trail and we found a nice spot to set up camp.  It was a little wet as it had rained a few hours before but the spot was just perfect.  Some drinks were had over a small enough camp fire to end the night.

The following morning started with coffee as always.  We weren't too far from town so we decided to head back for breakfast.  Back in town, we somehow convinced Alex to join on us for the rest of the trip.  Now four strong we made our way to Mount Everett.  We rode through the most beautiful country roads and dirt roads in and around NY, CT, and MA.  We found the shelter which was occupied by a couple of through hikers doing the whole length of the Appalachian Trail.  We had a few drinks and dinner over the camp fire and traded our tents for the shelter.  The best choice as it had started to pour during the night.  

We waited for the rain to stop in the morning.     A beautiful descent down Everett back onto NY roads and we reached the small town of Millerton to take in some lunch.  A quick stop to the beer store after and we were sharing drinks stories on the train on our way back to New York City.  It was the perfect way to end the weekend.