Summer Backpacking The hike was an 11-mile loop up and around 2200+-foot Gannett Hill in Bristol Springs, NY, about 40 miles south of Roch. off of the Lima/Avon (#10) exit of 390. The expedition team included Becky (leader), Claire, Brenda, Sasha, Kevin and myself. Kevin and I decided to lighten our packs so we bivied - I left my tent and pad in the car and just brought a tarp and Boda (light fleece) bag. After checking out the views from the trailhead to the valley floor 800-foot below there was a strenuous 2-mile hike up the hill (to about 2200 feet from about 1000 feet) then part way back down the other side to the campsite. We set up and were relaxing and napping when it started raining, during which Kevin and I stood under trees until it passed a while later. Oddly, Becky and Brenda braved the rain with us even though they had tents. :) That evening, after my dinner of tasty rehydrated beef stew with peas, Becky, Brenda and I hiked back up the hill to find the true summit (2246 or something) and found an observatory (U of R's Mees Observatory) on private property. We waited until dark and were treated to a beautiful starlight show...until somehow a couple of guys surprised us (don't know how they drove up that road without us hearing?!) and we took off like scared deer. Using our headlamps we high-tailed it down the hill back to camp, Blair Witch-style. Everyone else was sleeping when we got there so we just hit the hay. Sleeping outside was nice - it was a clear night (no more rain!) and not too hot. The only problem was the mosquitoes, for which I had to sleep entirely within the Boda bag thus sweating profusely all night. Needless to say I didn't get a restful sleep! Kevin and I agreed that for summer camping we'd prefer a lightweight hammock, Boda bag (or blanket), mosquito net and tarp to a bulkier tent, etc. The next day we had breakfast (I had granola), purified some more water, broke camp and finished the 8-9 miles of the loop, which was mainly road-based. Most members didn't care for the hike back (too much road, not enough trail) but I didn't mind and found plenty of interesting things to look at, like wildflowers, birds, wild turkey(?), rolling hills, farmlands and homesteads. We even had a tag-along - a chocolate lab named Chip, who followed us for a few miles before we had to shoo him back home. All in all, a nice little trip, something I had hoped to more of this summer but will this fall.