Hiking with Mike

Mike, middle standing, 1983
Click to enlarge photos

Mike Phelps played soccer on my Rumford High School team back in the early 1980s. Hard to believe it has been 30 years. Since then, he and his wife Karen have been terrific community people. They have two wonderful sons… not surprisingly, both play soccer. Mike spent many years volunteering as the Greater Rumford Community Center soccer coach. He'd have scores of kids down at the fields; often, he worked with the littlest kids. Big Mike and all those rug rats and ankle biters.

Mike and I hiked Whitecap Mountain the other day with our dogs, Fergie and Bailey. They know each other from their time at Sharon's daycare, so they had a terrific time wandering and sniffing the mountain trail. We went up the main trail, crossed over onto the Connector, and looped back down crossing the bridge with its water falls back to the main.

We didn't get into any deep conversations during this hike. We told dog stories and "Remember when's" about soccer and former players. It was an easy-going couple of hours--the kind of time old friends spend with silences that surface and linger like memories unspoken.

Mike & Fergie

    For the full album, click here.

Fergie in a Blueberry Field atop Whitecap.
Click to enlarge photo!

Mt Zircon (again)

We headed up Mt Zircon yet again today. The road to the trail head is now one lane after the micro burst we had on July 3rd. On the way down, Bailey ran into a porcupine and decided to nose it. He ended up with 8-10 quills in his nose and lips. I yanked them out right on the trail. He didn't like it, flinching when I pulled them out, but he was happy to eat a treat after the surgery was complete. To see the full album (taken with my el cheapo TracPhone) just click Album from Zircon summit. 

Looking west from the summit of Mt Zircon.
Click to enlarge.

Sam's Journals, part II

Sam and some of his many years of journals and workbooks. 

"Sam's Journals," my recent article about US Ski Team member Sam Morse and his writing, prompted another article by Mike Lowe, sports writer for the Portland Press Herald. Lowe's article, "Journal for the Journey," landed on the front page of the sports page. The online version of the article includes most of the manuscript and photos, though it has a different title found here. This ongoing promotion of my work is helpful on may levels… and I'll admit it's kind of fun.

Sam made the US ki Team's develop squad this spring. 

    

Why We Run

Click on book cover 

Currently, I'm reading Why We Run: A Natural History by Bernd Heinrich, a retired professor of biology from the University of Vermont who lives in Weld.  This book is a fascinating piece of writing for its glimpses into the author's youth, his wonder of the natural world, and his love of running. I've read several of his other books, including A Year in the Maine Woods.

While researching material for a nature writing class I'm teaching this summer, I found this short video featuring Dr. Heinrich and why he runs. It's shot in the woods of Weld and offers several quick views of Lake Webb and the Tumbledown Mountain range. If you're a runner, you might enjoy it.