Mt. Katahdyn - Sept 2008

A great climb to end the 2008 "season". This turned out to be much more difficult than I expected. After leaving Houston, Hurricane Ike, and over two weeks with no electricity behind, Hurricane Kyle loomed in the Atlantic, threatening to hit the Maine coast just as we were heading up to set up camp.


The fall colors were in full force, as we drove up from Bangor in the rental car. The last several miles of road in Baxter State Park are gravel, but are well maintained. We encountered several A.T. thru hikers. Including those in the photo here. From the sign in log, it appears that only about half the hikers that started the hike made it to the summit. Perhaps even less than half. Some of the thru hikers decided the weather was too rough near the top, and decided to come back on a better day for the final A.T. summit.



There are two campsites that have the picnic shelters as seen in the group photo. we tied up our hammocks in the rafters and rode out the rains from Kyle the nite before. It was a windy, noisy night. A couple of hikers came by to check our out Hennesse Hammocks, as we hung like bats from the rafters in relative comfort.




We made it up to about two miles from the summit, before deciding the cold wind and blowing rain wouldn't make for a nice day. On the way down I started planning on rescheduling my flight and coming back in two days for another attempt. After running some of the thru hikers to town, and dropping David off at the airport, I spent a night in Bangor hanging out with my son, who drove up from college. (WPI)



We located a "dive" bar, next to the bus station downtown. Chatted with lots of folks, and, unlike Texas, most everyone knew thier state hightpoint and had climbed it 2-3 times. Thats Kris clowning around in the fountain. Yes, we had in fact enjoyed a couple of beers already!




I have to mention this restaraunt, which is just a couple of towns away from Baxter State Park. The food was excellent. I had the spaghetti one night and a fish dinner the other. It's called the Aerie, and it's on the left hand side of the road, in East Millinocket.



After an uneventful nite, I headed back up again, this time, with no rain to deal with. I was the first one on the trail that morning. I even caught a gap in the clouds for almost an hour, and got a few photos between the clouds.





This is a bridge just past the one mile point.





This lovely waterfall is a nice place to stop for a sandwich and a short rest.




The last two miles consists of a fairly difficult to navigate boulder field. Even more difficult in the rain, as the trail becomes a rocky stream. Finally things get easier the final half mile as it levels of into a nice rocky field, with an easy path.




Although it's not as high as some of the western U.S. highpoints, and it's not a particularly long hike, this one will probably catch you by surprise the first time you hike it!




I had the honor of meeting this Retired Marine Colonel, who goes by "Yoda"! It was an honor to chat trailside with such an experienced hiker & soldier. Like the other Yoda, he was full of wisdom, inspiration, and advice on hiking and life!




At the summit, there were a few thru hikers that had camped at the summit. They were kind enough to snap a photo for me....

Angels Landing, Utah

This place is amazing. A great getaway dayhike. The next time you're in Vegas, drive up to Zion National Park in Utah. It's less than 3 hours! Spend two days here, and one in Vegas. Above is one of two extreme switchbacks. Very picturesque, no? This is a nice view of the "Landing" from the approach trail below. Spring and fall are probably a better time to do this hike. This was early in September, and the weather was almost perfect! This section, the first steep section, has a nice overhang to provide shade. Plan on stopping a couple of times to catch your breath. The overhang offers a nice refuge from the sun as your heart rate increases.... Also note how the trail pavement is grooved, providing great traction. Just past the overhang section, the trail cuts back into a nice canyon. It also transitions into another switchback section, and you begin the climb up to the gap. You pass through a nice, lightly forrested section in the canyon, catch your breath here. It quickly becomes another steep switchback! When you reach this gap, the real views begin! There are lots of chains placed along the way here for handholds. Otherwise, this would be a somewhat technical climb. There are places where it drops off quickly on both sides. The next few photos need no caption! I would certainly recommend some lightweight leather gloves. Just a cheap pair of work gloves will do fine. It's helpfull for running you hand along the chains and grabbing the rocks as well! Below are my first attempts at adding video to my blog. We'll see how it works out!



Here's a second video spot:


And, in closing, a few shots from the top!

Grandma

Margarita Gonzales, born April, 1915, died today.

She was my son's grandma, and is missed and was loved by many.

Grandma prayed more than any person I've ever personally known. I feel that I owe a lot of my success in life to Grandma - not only that, I'm not sure if I'd even be alive without all the prayers she sent up for me.

I can't write well enough to do her justice in my little blog. I'm so honored that the family let me be a palbearer today. It was truly an honor, and a priveledge.

Grandma, I know you're up in heaven, looking down on us, and praying for us still. I don't really see how I ever deserved to recieve so much kindness from you.

However, I thank you for everything.

Love, Rick

Rhode Island Highpoint

Most of my Highpoint trips begin with a trip to the airport; a flight to a city near the highpoint, a rental car (which sometimes gets thrashed a little) an overnite in a nearby hotel, or, camping near the trailhead.

This one was different - it began with a 2,000 mile motorcycle ride. I love taking long trips by motorcycle. This one had additional points of interest: Kris (my son) was moving to Worcester, Ma to work on his PHD. A good thing, from a parents point of view! Throw in 4 possible high point opportunities, and, well, sounds like a mini-adventure to me!






Left to right: scooter, Pig, Rick, Kris.

Kris wanted to take his car and motorcycle, so I jumped on board when asked to accompany him on the move. He was kind enough to let his old dad do all the motorcycling. I'm not to keen on long car trips, so he did all the boring, sleep inducing car driving.

The drive through Virgina, W.Va, NY State, & Pa. were incredible. I took off from work early on Wed, and we arrived in Worchester on Saturday. Since it had been a hot August in Houston, I was expecting to be a little miserable with the heat. Not so. From Tennessee to Mass. it was cool, even chilly at times. Life is good.


Due to poor planning on my part, I missed one H.P. opportunity in New Jersey. About an hour after we passed nearby the Jersey H.P. on the freeway, I noticed it on the map. We weren't going to add 2 more hours to the 2000 mile drive, so, after some confusion, and backtracking, we continued to his new apartment.


Drive to the highpoint, viewed thru windshield.

The next morning we set out (in his car) to "bag" the Highpoint, which is a "drive up".


Going by the Highpoint Adventures suggestion, we were taking photos along the highway near the radio tower. Then we noticed a young lady pull up on a scooter (along with a stuffed pig) and snap a few photos nearby. It turns out she was a member of the "Something Awful" web-group, and was participating in a motorcycle rally as part a group function. They're transporting the Pig you see in the photo across the country and photographing it at different location. A well traveled Pig, for sure.

I'd have to say this was the easiest highpoint ever, as some driveups have been much more difficult to locate.

Eva

Eva got her wings today.

My sister-in-law Eva, left this world today. She was sixty nine.

I only knew Eva for about half of her life. She was nice, soft spoken, god-fearing, faith filled and a strong family woman.

Her only child, her daughter Elaine survives her.

I often have felt over the years that she never really got a fair shake in life. By that, I mean it seems like she had to endure a lot of pain and that life didn't give her many breaks. I often felt like she was often made fun of more than she should be and not taken seriously enough. That people didn't think she had much to offer, or that her opinion wasn't truly valued. I never really understood why.

Eva had a big heart. A huge heart. I sensed she was in awe of god's creations, in awe of technology, and of people in general. She respected all, and seemed a little short on confidence.

Besides her father and brother who loved her dearly, I never really saw that there was a man there for her to love her and hold her up. This is all just an observation, on my part.

She was a woman of strength. She was a worker. She labored hard for her employeer, and, indeed, it also bothered me that her employeer didn't appreciate her enough and that her efforts weren't so well compensated for.

Eva's strength came from God, and from her family. She did smile a lot, and she smiled the most when I saw her at simple family gatherings for birthdays, holidays and celebrations. She was often happy when she was at church. She loved church. Like her mother and father, she truly loved God, and her family.

My peace comes from this: I've seen many strong women in my life, who found a way to survive on this earth, without a lot of help from an earthly man. She provided for herself and for her child, and gave to her church as much as she could, much more so than most.

Eva, I'm sorry I didn't do more for you. You showed me so much love and admiration, and treated me so kindly. And now as you have been lifted up into heaven, into your position of honor in Gods Choir, I feel I understand you so much more. In my minds eye, I can see you so clearly there beside the throne, beaming and smiling like a student at graduation.

You kept your treasures in your heart, and in heaven. Your deposits weren't made at the bank, but with the heavenly father. Now he's lifted away your prison, your tired body. You are soaring in a very high place, with beautiful robes, and with a bright, bright light.

I thank you for accepting me with my flaws and allowing me to be part of your earthly and your spiritual family.

(note, for those who don't know Eva, she was my ex-wifes sister)