For me, this week was all about ringing in the Saratoga season with drinks at Familiar Creature on Wednesday, New York City Ballet’s Coppélia at SPAC on Thursday, and opening weekend at the track later today. But in what seems like another life—one in which my knees still had most of their cartilage and I didn’t know the difference between a trifecta and a superfecta—early July marked the start of a different season for me: hiking season. By July, the snow had melted at even the highest of elevations, the swarms of black flies had subsided, and volleyball season (which occupied my weekends and ultimately wrecked my knees) was over.

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