You can't always escape to the mountains when work becomes too much for your wild mind, or school tries to dull the adventurer inside of you, so you dream of the best things the wilderness can offer you when you unleash your weekend warrior.

Every adventurer sets out with a certain image in mind of how the day is going to go, how the trail is going to look. I know I drive north to the Adirondacks, playing an audio book, or listening to something soothing and whimsical, like Ben Howard, Gabrielle Aplin, Leon Bridges, or George Ezra. Sometimes I play the Lord of the Rings music, just to bring out the Bilbo Baggins in me.

On that drive, a daydream plays over and over in my head, filling me with a euphoria that only comes when I am about to go exploring, when I see the mountains rise up in the distance, when I hear the crunch of leaves and twigs beneath my boots. I picture how the trail will look beneath the perfect sky, how my lungs will heave as I ascend to altitude, how the rest of the world will fall away beneath me as I summit. I have an image of my five favorite, the very best things that you can hope for on the trail.

1. The Perfect Light

You can't expect every day to have that perfect golden stream of light strike the ground in puzzle pieces as you walk along the trail. Most days you can expect it to wash out your surroundings with that grumpy haze of midday.

You might not be able to expect it, but you can certainly dream that it will happen. Perfect lighting is every photographers dream. It is why so many photographers waking up early, or sleeping on summits. It is all to catch that perfect lighting. 

Some days you get very lucky, when there is some sort of light layer of clouds that filters the harsh light of midday and gives contrast to the world around you. You can't always be lucky though, so sometimes you have to plan your day around when the light is best.

Afternoons, right before the sun is bound to set is one of the best times for photos, they don't call it Golden Hour for nothing. You may be hiking back down the mountain in the dark, but you sure will snag some bangers.

This past weekend I traveled up to the Adirondacks from my long absence. We greeted like lovers in a long-distant relationship. The sun wasn't too happy though, and spoiled my lens with harsh light and glaring beams.

Some day's you just have to take it as it is and move on to the other best moments you can hope for.

2. The Best Trails Aren't Crowded

Late fall is one of the best times hiking for me. As I wandered through the mountain valleys on Saturday, I was mostly alone. The parking lot was packed, but I seemed to have the trail to myself. I wandered for miles, listening to the sounds of my feet crackling across dead leaves and twigs, and the clamor of chipmunks rustling like a pack of feral boars. 

For the longest while, I seemed alone in the wilderness. I was able to take a deep breath and take a step away from humanity for a while, losing myself to the beauty of the wooded mountains.

Eventually did come across people, but not many. One group was five elderly ladies who had moved to Keene Valley after retirement so they could spend their days hiking and witnessing nature at it's finest.

I had taken a path few ventured on, just to see what it was like, and eventually came to a hidden beauty taken straight from a faery tale and dropped into my beloved Adirondacks. We bonded over the waterfalls rushing below the wooden bridge, and laughed over PB&J's.

Some moments are nice remembered while alone, other times coming across a few wonderful people in a new place can be just what you need.

But always, the best trails aren't crowded.

3. The Views From The 6

Yes, that is a bad Drake pun, but every weekend warrior want's to see some stunning views from the top.

Sadly, I wasn't able to witness endless summits this time around. I had taken a path I had thought would not detour me too far, but I was mistaken, and put an hour and a half behind schedule. Instead of summiting, I turned my attention to a series of waterfalls that I knew would be roaring in pleasure after the intense rainfall the week before.

A simply change in plans, and not letting that get you down is all you need to refocus your attention. 

I set my sights on Rainbow Falls, a true beauty in the Adirondacks, and one of my favorite waterfalls in New York. It cascades from the side of a cliff and into a slot canyon, shattering itself to pieces on rocks jutting forth from the rocky walls. As it bursts into liquid crystal, and finishes tumbling to the rocks and pools below, the chains that tie you to your weekday worries will fade away.

I can't help but be in awe whenever I walk along the slippery creek bed to the falls. This time, the stream above the canyon hurled itself out into the air with vigor, howling in a dull roar of teenage angst and wondrous excitement.

I am not ashamed to say that I did the same.

4. The Unexpected Treasures Found Along the Way

On this trip I might not have climbed the summit I was hoping to, or seen the beauty of the Adirondacks stretching out in valleys of brown and flashes of gold, but I reaffirmed my one theory that I forget every time life clobbers me in the chest.

It is the little things that count.

I found the unexpected in the wild of the trail. I marveled at moss dripping cool, clear water from a cave ceiling, danced beneath the brilliant green of a cedar as light burned through the branches, hummed along with the countless waterfalls tumbling end-over-end from their streambeds.

In one fine moment, after I had finally left those kind old ladies I had met at the bridge, I was meandering along a ravine, the roaring  call of rapids crashing tumultuously against the rocks below. The steep slope gave way to a gentle bank filled with fallen logs and brambles.

A waterfall poured hungrily over a small drop, seething and sending a haze of vapor up into the sky. The harsh light of the sun forgot itself for a moment and tumbled merrily through the mist, branching out into a fan of white light.

I pushed my way through the brush and stood on a rock, marveling at the unexpected treasure of the little moments in life.

5. The Bubbling Adrenaline of Creativity

Some days you go to a place and you love how it makes you feel. You hike a mountain and vibe with how exhausted it made you, how hard you had to push to make a good time summiting. Some days you enjoy the company you are with, and laugh and delve into deep subjects as you make your way through the wilderness. Some days you run to the woods to escape, you grow sullen, yearning for the burn of your muscles, the taste of salty sweat on your skin.

Take those memories, those thoughts, those little feelings of exhaustion, happiness, euphoria, wonder, pain, resentment, whatever feelings you have, and breathe them in.

These feelings will help drive the creative in you. It will feed the fire and help you capture a moment. Maybe you can't capture it in a photo, or pretty words on a bar napkin, or on that blank blog entry staring up at you, but capture them in your head, store them for later, because memories like these, those are what gets you through.

Memories like these helps keep that creative inside of you.

Tell me what drives you, what memories stir the creative in you.

Stay sane weekend warriors!