Spring Hike on Black Mountain

 

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We hit Black Mountain yesterday on a glorious early-spring day. I wondered how Bailey would do on the steeps. Well, he bested me to the summit by 1/3 of a mile. He's still got it. 

Hiking in a Squall

We got caught in a snow squall on Whitecap today. Wicked fun. Saturday's new snow sure slowed us down. I hope the video of Bailey shows up--looks like he's had a few nips. I included a few clear day pictures from last week to give you a sense of where we are.

What it looks like without a squall. 

This-n-that of February (and January)

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Yes, I'm alive. I've been away from the blog for almost a month! Yesterday, we hiked up Whitecap Mountain in good time. The snow is deep but hiking center trail keeps us from post-holing. We've only hiked 22 mountains in January and February. I guess we're both getting old. Truth is, the extra days off are paying off. Bailey's not limping after a hike, and I'm feeling great. 

  

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I just wrote a grad school friend and his wife (Hi, Hilary & Tom) that I've been working on four books. It's among the dumbest things I've done as a writer -or- human in the past 69+ years. I've probably mentioned these books in the past. One book is a novel titled, Play On, Maine United! Two others are The Junior Golfer's Workbook and its coach's handbook. 

The final book is an editing job I've been on since August '21 with a former student named Matt Carrier. Matt has battled two bouts of cancer and wrote me 18 months ago about wanting to write his story. He has a desire to help others who face such a challenge and I loved his motivation. Here's his opening letter in the book titled, To Ring the Bell:

Remember! Click photo to enlarge. 

I really like Matt's author's photo (check out the t-shirt) and the draft book cover.  

 

Shoveling with Bailey

 

We had a 5" storm yesterday, and I had the bright idea of shoveling the driveway to save the $70 plowing fee. I didn't turn on my hiking GPS until I'd done about 1/5th of the upper driveway (20 minutes +-). 

At the halfway mark, I started to feel a bit tired. By the bottom, where the town plow had piled up snow, including large ice chunks, I started to calculate whether the $70 was worth the effort. This coming Monday's storm looks to be 8" or more, so I'm thinking I made the right decision. As you can see, Bailey played supervisor throughout the job. Very helpful. 

Espen's news

Espen and Bailey, October 2019

Espen (Denmark) was here several years ago with a boy named Moritz from Germany/Belgium. Espen loved playing soccer and skiing, and he spent time on the baseball and track teams. 

He came back to visit in the fall of 2019. During that visit, he went on a 3-day canoe trip with the high school Outing Club and another of my exchange students, Sebino.  We also went hiking. 

After a trip to Asia with his girlfriend, Espen decided to join the Danish Army. Now, he protects the Queen of Denmark's castle!  I'm sure this is a good experience for Espen. Next, I'm guessing, will be university. But, who knows. Maybe he'll stay in the Army. 

Guard uniform