10 Fall Outings Worth Getting Up Early For — Even the One Where the Warmest Spot Is a Soaked Tent

I packed my backpack and headed into the fall woods. It’s quiet and sunny.

• I read that if you really want something, you should go into the woods and shout it out loud. And I wanted to be married. So I got up at 5 a.m. and went into the woods.
  I picked a pretty little clearing and shouted, “I want to be married!” Suddenly, a man’s voice called from behind the fir trees, “Miss, you might want to try the lake instead. At least there are fishermen there. You’re not going to find a husband out here.”
  I could feel my face and neck turning red. I hurried out of there and, on the way, ran right into someone. I apologized, then took a look: a cute young guy picking mushrooms, with his basket almost full. And this was October!
  I was so surprised there were still mushrooms that late in the year. We got to talking, he promised to show me where to find honey mushrooms, and we swapped numbers. I guess that trip to the woods wasn’t for nothing after all.

The potatoes are dug up, the cranberries are picked, and today we’re simply relaxing by the water. Soup is in the pot, tea is in the thermos. The kids are roasting marshmallows. Rain starts on Monday.

• Back in the summer, my friends and I planned a camping trip. But somehow, we never had the time, and we only got together in October.
  Our friend Max brought along his new girlfriend, Nelly, who was very sweet and sociable. We were surprised that she had so little gear, but she assured us that she had gone camping many times and had everything she needed with her.
  Once we arrived and started setting up, she immediately went off to gather twigs and firewood, skillfully started a campfire, and began making soup. All in all, she was impressive. As we talked, it turned out that she hadn’t brought anything at all — not a tent or even a sleeping bag.
  She had done it on purpose so she could travel light. She was planning to spend the night by the campfire and was very proud of her clever idea. But she hadn’t taken into account that it was no longer summer, and even by a campfire, nights can get pretty chilly. We offered to make room for her in one of the tents, but she just waved us off.
  The next morning, there was quite a sight: Nelly was sleeping in Max’s sleeping bag, while he was sitting by the campfire drinking tea. When she woke up, she admitted that her life hack really wasn’t suitable for fall.

Autumn days

• I love hiking for those warm, cozy moments when nature puts you to the test on the very first day. We paddled through a downpour until our fingers cramped up and the river became one solid wall of water. We crawled to our rest stop on all fours.
  The warmest place within a mile around was our soaking-wet tent. We squeezed inside, tried to warm up by huddling close together, and talked for about 2 hours. That’s how we bonded for the entire trip. Then we stepped back out into the drizzle to set up the cooking pot and make some buckwheat.

A few photos from our latest expedition

Yesterday, I ran into an excited acquaintance who declared, “I think it’s started!”
“What has started?!”
“Mushrooms! Honey mushrooms and porcini.”
I wasn’t entirely convinced, but I checked the mushroom chats. I didn’t notice any particular surge in posts. So we paused to consider whether it was worth going. But eventually we headed into the woods, and were glad we did.
Before we even reached our favorite spot, we started finding mushrooms: the usual chanterelles, black chanterelles, boletes, and lots of russulas. Then we came across the first tree covered in honey mushrooms and focused on those instead.
It looks like we caught the very beginning of the honey mushroom season, when they’re just starting to appear. We didn’t even touch a huge number of them because they were so tiny that there was no point in picking them. Still, the two of us gathered enough honey mushrooms for the whole family.

• One fall, my friend and I decided to head to a nearby forest for a walk and see whether there were any mushrooms around. But our main goal was to breathe in the fresh air and enjoy nature’s autumn colors.
  So we were strolling and rustling through the leaves. Then it started to rain, so we had to take shelter. All of a sudden, we saw what looked like a child in a raincoat running toward us from a distance.
  When it got closer, we both burst out laughing because it wasn’t a child but a dog in a raincoat! It sniffed us, wagged its tail, and then its owner called out to it, so it ran off. Nothing particularly extraordinary happened, but it was the most memorable trip outdoors.

For the second day, my buddy and I have been relaxing at the cabin and trying to fish. So far, though, all we’ve managed are paddleboard outings.