Looking to get Gunky next weekend

I've been going out of town a lot the past couple of weeks - for both work and holiday. All good stuff. And I'll be continuing the habit this coming week on a work trip to Boston.

Afterwards, the plan is to drive down to NYC for the weekend, meet a friend of mine, and do some climbing just north of the city at The Gunks; I have been wanting to get more outdoor climbing under my belt and the opportunity seems perfect (if the weather is good enough, that is).

We discussed the logistics for this adventure (and will probably come down to some last minute decisions) and I suggested that we camp near The Gunks Friday night, climb all day on Saturday, then drive back into NYC Saturday night; I'll fly back to SF Sunday afternoon. Sounds good, but - man-o-man - I'll have to bring a tent, sleeping bags, headlamps, etc. - the whole 9 yards of gear, so to speak - just for ONE night of early (early!) spring camping on the East Coast (plus mine and my friend's climbing gear). Still, even though it seems a little silly, I said: "what the hell"; I'm willing to haul that garbage out from San Francisco and do it up in comfortable(ish) outdoor style.

But my friend reminds me - did I mention this is a guy I met at BOSS last May? - that "wtf [sic] do we camping gear for? didn't [sic] we drop a crap load of money last year to learn how to handle ourselves w/o such pansy creature comforts?" True 'dat.

But he also goes on to say, "sleeping bags are nice".

And I couldn't agree more. haha. That is, it's nice to know that I can - physically and mentally - handle myself in a survival situation with minimal gear (think: no sleeping bag, no tent, no backpack, no food), but I will be the first one to tell you that I still prefer the option of using straightforward, good-quality, modern gear, given the choice. No doubt. (And, like, duh.)

Mind you, *my* version of camping - 0 degree down bag et. al. - is still another person's worst nightmare of sleeping on the ground, eating minimally, and hiking mad distances, but, shoot, I wouldn't have it any other way. I mean, the rest of the time I'm in my most preferred environment - well-stocked fridge and hot shower close at hand - so I'm willing to rough it every once in a while. ;)

In any case, I might get a chance to do some outdoor climbing *this* weekend, much closer to home at Mount St. Helena, but here, too, we're still at the mercy of the weather, chance of rain in the forecast and all. She's the boss! And if it's a no-go, there *is* always the gym (at least until the big one hits and our indoors become our outdoors).