I鈥檓 not exactly sure when New York City started to feel like home since I moved here seven years ago, but before I knew it, I鈥檇 lived here the longest I鈥檝e lived anywhere as an adult. Folks I meet in the outdoor industry are often surprised that it鈥檚 my home base. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how you could live there,鈥� they say. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so crowded, and I need to be outdoors.鈥� I respond with an equally surprised, 鈥淥h, I love living in NYC!鈥�

Because I truly do. In my opinion, there is no better place to see good art, hear good music, eat good food, be surrounded by all sorts of interesting and creative people鈥攁nd still be able to go on quick, amazing adventures. Here鈥檚 how I cram outdoor time (and culture鈥攊t鈥檚 New York, for goodness鈥� sake!) into a busy schedule throughout the month. Even if you don鈥檛 live in New York, consider this a blueprint and scope out similar opportunities wherever you live.

Week One

Pre-Work: Foraging for Mushrooms in City Parks (and Cemeteries!)

Mushrooms are a tasty treat that can be foraged all over the world, including in cities. Many different species of edible mushrooms grow in New York, like enoki, blewit, chicken of the woods, and oyster mushrooms. Go for an early morning hunt in Van Cortland Park in the Bronx, High Rock Park in Staten Island, or even one of the many large, wooded cemeteries in Brooklyn and Queens. If you鈥檙e a bit too unfamiliar with mushroom identification for your own safety, the New York Mycological Society and encourages beginners to join.

Post-Work: Viking Climbing League at the Cliffs at LIC

It鈥檚 like a bowling league with matching shirts, punny names, and friendly(ish) competition, except you鈥檙e hanging with some of your favorite people at one of your favorite places: the climbing gym. Oh, and there鈥檚 free food and beer afterward. You鈥檙e scored each week on your three highest redpoints individually and as a team. Top rope or lead is allowed, and the points use a handicap system based on your onsight level instead of purely grades. Oh, and folks always go out for pizza and beer afterward. The Cliffs at聽LIC hosts these six-week each season, so grab some friends and make climbing a team sport for just one night of the week.

Weekend: Scramble Breakneck Ridge

This is one of the coolest and most accessible hikes from NYC, which is probably why it can get crowded on nice-weather days. Though is only about three miles, it requires a bit of scrambling on your hands and feet鈥攂ut that鈥檚 what makes it fun. It鈥檚 right near the town of Cold Spring, along the Hudson River. You can get here easily by taking the Metro-North train from Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan to the Breakneck Ridge station, which is only a quarter-mile from the .

Week Two

Lunch: See One of NYC鈥檚 Lesser-Known Museums

New York has no shortage of world-renowned museums: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney, to name a few. But there are several awesome smaller museums that have great exhibits, permanent collections, and close ties with NYC communities. Take a lunch break to check out the or the , or head to the to see the crown jewel of the 1964 World鈥檚 Fair, a 9,300-square-foot at-scale model of the city of New York.

Post-Work: Take a Long, Scenic Trail Run

While it鈥檚 not the same as running in the Eastern Sierra, you can still get a beautiful long run in-city. Start in Brooklyn Bridge Park and run across the Brooklyn Bridge, down the East River Greenway around the bottom of Manhattan to Battery Park. From there, head up the all the way to George Washington Bridge. This run is probably around 15 miles one way, so turn around and go back the same way for a longer run, or jump on the subway on Broadway if you鈥檝e had enough for the day.

Weekend: Fire Island Backcountry Camping Trip

is a beautiful barrier island on Long Island that is just a train and ferry trip away from the city. Known as a summertime getaway, Fire Island can be a bit crowded and expensive during peak season, but you can get more nature and fewer mosquitos in the fall. It鈥檚 also a designated national seashore that鈥檚 part of the national park system, so get out there and spend a weekend camping at one of its backcountry sites in the High Dunes, and don鈥檛 forget to pack your fishing rod. There are striped bass, bluefish, and fluke to catch from authorized areas. Hunting (wildfowl only) permits are also available in fall. There鈥檚 a limited after Labor Day, so plan accordingly.

Week Three

Lunch: Boulder at Central Park

Central Park in the autumn is divine鈥攖he leaves are changing, the mosquitos are finally gone, and the temperatures are nice enough for a lunchtime . is the best known and easy to find, though and are fun as well. At Rat Rock, you get the extra treat of small children shouting at you that they鈥檝e found an easier way to the top, reminding you of the absurdity of this sport. Bring your shoes and a chalk bag. Many problems are low enough to the ground to get away without a crashpad, though during autumn there will be enough fellow climbers with pads they鈥檙e willing to share.

Post-Work: Kayak the Hudson or East River

Take in the skyline and escape the hustle of the city for a couple hours from the seat of a kayak on the East River or Hudson River. Boathouses in both and offer kayaks rentals, or you can go on a scheduled tour. The聽boathouse in near 45th Street and the Hudson River Parkway also rents SUPs. Both rivers are active waterways, so paddlers must take a bit of care, but the pleasures of being out on the water will make up for it.

Weekend: Climbing, Hiking, Doughnut Trip to New Paltz

New Paltz is a cute college town north of New York City that happens to sit at the base of the , also known as 鈥渢he Gunks,鈥� which feature world-class trad climbing routes. This area also has some great bouldering and top-rope areas, though you won鈥檛 see much sport climbing in this old-school spot. has a ton of trails for biking and training runs. Take advantage of fall apple season and聽eat at least 15 apple cider doughnuts from the . Though a car is convenient once you鈥檙e out there, you can take the from Port Authority in Manhattan and hitchhike up to the climbing and hiking areas from town.

Week Four

Pre-Sunrise: Bike the New York City Marathon Course

The famous happens the first weekend of every November and winds through all five boroughs of our very special city. Hours before the race, a small contingent of swift cyclists meets up in the wee hours of early morning at a Dunkin鈥� Donuts in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, . This isn鈥檛 a stroll鈥攜ou have to maintain a pretty quick clip to make it through the course before they clear it out for runners. And to be clear, this is not a part of the marathon鈥攜ou鈥檙e cycling at your own risk. If you鈥檙e looking for something more curated, check out the in spring.

Weekend: See DIA Beacon and Hike Some Casino Ruins

A converted former Nabisco factory, the is one the largest exhibition spaces for contemporary art in the country. It houses long-term, large-scale exhibits, like Francois Morellet鈥檚 No End Neon, and curates cutting-edge dance performances and artist talks. The town of Beacon abuts Mount Beacon, one of tallest mountains along the Hudson River. You can hike to the summit, where you鈥檒l see the ruins of the old casino and the gear house that used to brings folks up in a trolley on the side of the mountain. One of the best parts of going to the DIA Beacon is taking the Metro-North train from NYC along the Hudson River.

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It happens all the time. Someone assumes you鈥檙e waiting to climb an easy route. Someone sprays you down with bad beta while staring at your sports bra. Someone assumes your belay buddy is your boyfriend鈥攚ho also taught you how to climb.聽And this someone, in my experience, is almost always a guy.

Last month, women's climbing community聽聽put out a survey asking聽climbers about how gender affects their experiences at the gym. We gathered data on the correlation between gender and microaggressions, such as unwanted staring and advice, blatant physical and verbal harassment, and general discomfort in specific areas of the gym. The survey was available online and open to anyone for two weeks. It consisted of 28 questions and provided an opportunity for anecdotal feedback. We received over 1,500 responses: 29.8 percent male, 68.7 percent female, and 1.5 percent other.聽

What we found was overlooked gender discrimination and a sexist culture in our climbing gyms. Sixty-four percent of women who took the survey said they felt uncomfortable, insulted, or dismissed at some point during their training, as opposed to 29 percent of men. 鈥淯ltimately [climbing] suffers from the same sexist shit that exists in other parts of society,鈥� one woman wrote in the survey. 鈥淲hen I climb with other female friends, we often get treated very differently, whether we're condescended to, ignored, or hit on.鈥�

How can we address the issue of sexism in climbing gyms?

Acknowledge the Problem

鈥淚 don't see how it can be more inclusive,鈥� one male climber wrote in the survey. 鈥淚f you like rock climbing or bouldering, that鈥檚 all you need to feel comfortable and included. No one really bothers you if you don't wish to be bothered. Most people just mind their own business.鈥�

The results of our survey suggest聽the opposite. While 65 percent of women said they had experienced microaggressions, only 25 percent of men responded the same way. And 39 percent of women complained of unwanted staring, more than double the percentage reported by men who took the survey.聽Plus, less than one-third of those men reported that the聽microaggressions聽came primarily from someone of the other gender鈥攊n contrast to 86 percent of women.聽In other words, just because most women don鈥檛 experience blatant, aggressive sexual harassment at their climbing gyms, doesn鈥檛 mean it鈥檚 not there in the form of condescension or unwanted flirtation. Step one to finding a solution is admitting that sexism is a very real thing within the climbing community.

Ask Before Offering Advice

According to our results, the primary reason for feeling uncomfortable or avoiding certain parts of the gym for both men and women was the聽embarrassment of not knowing what to do or a lower skill level. I know it can be tempting to give advice that you think will help a fellow climber. But results show that 32 percent of women experience unwanted advice in the climbing gym (as opposed to 15 percent of men).聽Even if you鈥檙e giving beta with the best of intentions, it鈥檚 better to take a moment to ask someone if they鈥檇 like your help first. If they decline, respect their decision.

Think Twice Before Giving a聽鈥淐ompliment鈥�

Demeaning comments like 鈥測ou鈥檙e really strong for a girl鈥� or 鈥測ou鈥檙e stronger than you look鈥� are patronizing and disrespectful. Feeding into sexist stereotypes will only perpetuate the problem. Gender should never negatively affect someone's experience at the gym, and we can change the issue of sexism in the climbing community by considering what we say before we say it.

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