How To Make The Best Of Waylaid Plans

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I'm writing this at the tail end of a 4-day weekend that turned out differently than planned.

The plan for the 4-day weekend:

• Hop into my SUV to escape NYC

• Check out some undeveloped land for sale

• Spend a few nights off-grid

But, no plan survives contact with the enemy.

Checking out undeveloped land for sale was an interesting exercise.

That search will continue.

Spending time off-grid was a bit of a bust.

The plan was to spend two nights off-grid in an area I enjoy spending time in called Ferris Lake Wild Forest (~4 hours north of New York City).

We were all geared up, ready to spend time in nature, and decompress.

However, when we arrived at Ferris Lake, everything appeared to be working against us.

There are two entrances to Ferris Lake, which I'll call the North and South Entrances.

We inadvertently entered through the North Entrance.

The North Entrance is a narrow, snowy, and muddy road, which may be a problem for a typical car but not an AWD SUV capable of withstanding a bit of off-roading.

But, the off-road capability of our SUV wasn't going to help when we arrived at a point where a tree was lying across the road about a mile in.

The challenge was making a U-turn on that narrow road because I wasn't about to drive in reverse for a mile to exit.

While I could make a U-turn (a 15-point U-turn), it became clear that we would've been SOL if we were towing a camper.

Trying to turn around on that narrow road with a camper in tow would have been a heck of a challenge.

I shudder to think about it.

So, we made the U-turn, backtracked, and drove to the South Entrance.

When we arrived at the South Entrance, we were met with an "all-wheeled vehicles are prohibited beyond this point" sign.

Foiled again.

I considered ignoring the sign and finding a spot for the night.

However, I realized that if there's a sign prohibiting wheeled vehicles, the road to the camping spots via the South Entrance may be just as bad, if not worse, than the North Entrance.

At that point, we decided to consider our options as it was a bit late, we were tired, and we were literally in the middle of nowhere with limited cell phone service.

The options:

• Find a hotel

• Drive back to NYC

• Drive to another area I know where we can spend the night, similar to Ferris Lake

Driving 4 hours back to NYC was out.

The idea of trying to find a hotel in a rural area didn't seem have any chance of success.

So, we decided to roll the dice and head to an off-grid area we explored a few years ago but never stayed in: Long Pond State Forest.

When we arrived at Long Pond, we found an easily accessible spot to park for the night, jumped into our sleeping bags in the back of our SUV (one of the reasons we purchased the SUV), and passed out.

We were glad we decided to roll the dice when we woke up the following day.

The entire area is secluded and dry and is a great destination to spend a weekend (or a week) off-grid.

We decided to scout out all of the available campsites in the area, and, with the exception of 2, each site would be ideal for an off-grid getaway, especially if we were towing a camper.

Since it was cloudy, cold, and the possibility of rain, we decided to cut our losses and return to the city.

Of course, no long drive is complete without stopping for a hearty breakfast.

So, what's the lesson in all of this?

The lesson is to remember the importance of adaptability when plans don't go as expected.

Despite having a specific plan for a weekend getaway, the inaccessibility of Ferris Lake disrupted those plans.

Instead of letting that inaccessibility ruin the trip entirely (and to avoid the 4-hour drive back to NYC), we adapted by remembering an alternative destination.

We tried to make the best of it.

Although we didn't spend two nights off-grid as initially planned, we did find an area that is a better option for spending a weekend (or a week) off-grid in the future.

Things won't always go according to plan.

However, with some adaptability, you can still find positive outcomes and make the most of any situation.

Interesting reads:

Disillusioned with life in the US, she moved to Mexico

You can find the collection of financial tools & resources that helped me grow from a 6-figure debt to a 6-figure net worth by clicking here.

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