The trip was over before I wrote down what happened.
I had been backpacking in the Big Indian Wilderness, inside Catskill Park. I camped for the weekend and got to do a little scrambling over some big rocks. That was the good part of the short account I sent a friend afterward.
Then the gear was gone.
My iPhone, tent, zero-degree sleeping bags, sleeping-bag liner, and camping axe were among the things stolen. I turned on location services for the phone and hoped it would come back online. I also wrote to the local police and asked which department I needed to contact to begin a report.
By Sunday night, I had moved on to replacing things.
I pulled together a list of several two-person tents, another very cold sleeping bag, a hatchet, wool socks, and a warm base layer. A friend could get good prices on outdoor equipment, so I sent the list over and asked what everything would cost.
The answer was good enough that I decided to take the sleeping bag, hatchet, socks, and base layer. Saving money felt great, although I admitted there was only so much to celebrate when someone had taken the original gear.
I had also been watching the price of a new training watch for about a year. I checked that too, then stopped. There was not much room for a discount on the hardware, and I still needed to replace the iPhone. The watch could wait.
A few days later, I ordered a replacement piece for my backpack. The manufacturer had explained that its warranty did not cover lost or stolen equipment, but it could sell me the missing part.
The trip itself still got a positive summary: some camping in the Catskills and some scrambling over big rocks. Everything after that was a replacement list.