Ritzhikes

Where: Westfield River When: 7/23-7/24, 2005 With: Chip, Dave We'd set aside this weekend some time ago for a Stupid adventure. The destination and activity were left undecided, though most bets were on a reprise of the annual kayak adventure in Connecticut. As the date got closer, I sent out another message to see if anyone was still interested in going. Chip responded immediately that he was on board. Xeth took a bit longer to reply and after a brief exchange of emails he bowed out, citing a heavy work schedule. Dave waited even longer, then sent a "So, are we going?" message. The Connecticut river trip was closely linked to Xeth and I didn't feel it was appropriate to go there without him, so I began to consider alternatives. Somehow I got the idea of a return to the Westfield river, but with mountain bikes. I knew Dave & Chip both had the bikes, and I'd wanted to ride in the area along the river for some time. I figured we could park at the usual spo...

Where: Westfield River When: 10/16-17/2004 With: Chip & Dave I was looking for an early fall hike (something with trails and backpacks) and initially suggested the weekend of September 11-12 to Chip. That seemed fine, but Jane reminded me that we had a friend's birthday party to attend on the 11th, so we rescheduled to October 2-3. I was thinking it would be just Chip & me and we'd go north to the Whites, but we sent out invitations to the other BUMS anyway. Seth responded quickly that he'd be interested so the destination shifted south and west, to the Alander Mountain area. We'd tried to hike there last spring, but foul weather cancelled that trip. Dave also signed on for the adventure and we were all set, until my brother Bill contacted me the week before the hike to confirm he'd be visiting that weekend. Crap! I'd forgotten about Bill's visit. I told the other BUMS to go without me, but instead a new date of October 16-17 was proposed. I chec...

Where: Mr. Beaver's Paradise (Westfield River) When: 7/27-28, 2002 With: The B.U.M.S. Back in The Day, putting a hike together for the four members of the Brotherhood of Universal Mutual Stupidity (a.k.a. The BUMS, a.k.a. The Stupids) involved a few quick phone calls and some decision-making about destination, transportation and food. The years have added many layers of other considerations however. We've many miles between us, and there are kids and schedules and responsibilities and....well, it's pretty rare and special when we can pull it all together. The last time we all gathered was in 1999 for our last Collinsville trip, and this year's trip almost didn't happen. A number of dates were proposed, rejected, agreed upon, rescinded and it began to look like we'd have to wait another year. Like the clouds parting to reveal a patch of blue sky however, our schedules shifted, a date opened up and lo and behold, we could all make it. So we locked in the dat...

Where: Westfield River, Indian Hollow When: 8/12/00-8/13/00 With: Andy, Chip, Brian, Jason Chip & I had long talked about taking the boys out for a combined camping trip. The trick would be careful planning and selection of destination. Brian and Jason had done a lot of hiking and some camping, but never any backpack camping. Andy had a few years of backpacking under his belt but still wasn't up for a major mountain assault. In the end we decided to go back to Mr. Beaver's Paradise, a small rocky gorge along the Westfield River in Western Massachusetts. It was nearby and the walk from the car was short and level. The gorge itself was pretty neat, with a deep pool, a rope swing and some tall cliffs, and there were several good tent spots. We picked a mutually acceptable date and met at our house to begin the journey. I had been watching on-line river gauges all week and noticed the river level was high but acceptable. Our route required two river crossings and high wat...

Where: Westfield River When: 7/12-7/13/97 With: Andy Andy's first camping trip! He'd been showing interest for some time but I'd never managed to get organized and go. We'd done a couple of successful overnights in the backyard, so I knew sleeping in a tent wouldn't be a problem. It was just a matter of finding the time to get away. Finally the opportunity presented itself. A good weather forecast and no conflicts with other activities, so off we went. We set off late in the day, around 3:30, and arrived at the parking area a little after 5:00. We packed up pretty quickly and headed down to the river. I was carrying my new Lowe Contour IV pack (its first trip too) containing the majority of the gear (sleeping bags, tent, food, clothes) and Andy had his Cookie Monster pack with his essentials (Mr. Clown, Teddy, books, crayons). We followed a pickup truck past the gate and found a sizable gathering of folks down in the Indian Hollow camping area. I briefly con...

Where: Westfield River (Mr. Beaver's Paradise) When: 9/21/96-9/22/96 With: Bill I was sorely in need of some woods time, so when the opportunity presented itself for a weekend trip I took it. Though I'd been yearning for a solo hike, I decided to give Bill a call to see if he and/or Tom would be interested and available for a trip. I was only giving them a few days notice and I didn't really expect much, but I felt I owed it to them. The last time I talked with Bill, he'd seemed really in need of a camping trip. Good thing I called, because it turned out that he was free for the weekend. Debby & Kevin were off to Maine! There was a small matter of finding someone to take care of the cats, but that was resolved quickly and we made plans to meet in Chesterfield. Tom was iffy, because of some recent toe surgery. Saturday morning I was on the road by 7. After several days of heavy rain and cool temps, the forecast was for sun and warmth. I made the mistake of taki...

Where: Westfield River When: 16 April 1996 With: Solo I'm a-going fishing, all of the time, My baby's going fishing too. Bet your life, that your sweet wife Is gonna catch more fish than you. Little fishies bite if you've got good bait, That's a little tip that I would like to relate. With my pole, and my line, I'm a-going fishing, yes I'm going fishing, And my baby's going fishing too. - Taj Mahal I had this song playing on my tape deck when I got onto the Turnpike, heading west. I'd hoped to get out at the same time as Jane and Andy (7:30), but I'd neglected to pack up the night before so I didn't get going until 8:30. The weather was perfect...sunny, cool, a few clouds and a light breeze...and traffic was light. I took a slightly different route that avoided downtown Northhampton and made it to the parking area for the Westfield River by 10:00. I decided to forgo the waders, opting instead for scuba boots, river sandals, and s...