I decided to start the summer off right this year, so I headed north on Saturday to try and get some hiking in (thank god for Ahren's inspiration). After a web search, I arbitrarily picked Mount Morgan, a 2200 ft. whale of a mountain (like a teeny tiny whale), located in the Lakes region, about 2 hrs from Boston. 2.2 miles each way, with a Mt. Percival loop option. due to errands and a much needed haircut, i set out around 12:30, got through most of the weekend slacker traffic, and finally hit the New Hampshire border, where the mass. shittiness ends, and the pretty green forests begin.

The drive was awesome. my new car (still new cause she's got no name) is a joy to take anywhere, with the air conditioning, and the cruise control, and the radar detection, and the cd playing capabilities. trey's new CD is awesome - orchestral guyute is excellent, and the other songs are solid too.

the emerald landscape managed to erase all my remaining memories of the frigid winter, and resurrect my belief that new england is just a beautiful place to live. the drive was largely uneventful (aside from the bag of beef jerky i managed to consume). When nearing my destination, I stopped by a tourist info office to find out if there are other good trails, and where would be a decent place to camp. It is amazing how those places are always staffed by happy old ladies, who don't really know how to help you, but make you all warm inside with the knowledge that yes, your grandmother could also be this nice and happy (but she's not). she did tell me though that the hike i was about to do featured a view that is on the yearly "come visit new hampshire" magazine, so that was cool.

mt. morgan greeted me with a myriad of mosquito varieties, all just itching to get some of my sweet sweet blood. and get it they did. i quickly changed into my brand new hiking boots, covered my skin with 80% deet, and sprinted up the mountain to get away from my new friends. the heat and humidity conspired to remove first the last ounce of shame i possessed and then my shirt. time and distance melted away after about 20 minutes, so that i had no idea how long i'd been going, how much longer i had to go, or whether i was still the same person. i did discover a fellow hiker headed in the same direction as me. i started out slightly ahead of this middle-aged born again christian (my imagination started getting the best of me at this point), but every time i stopped to have a drink of water or rest, he would pass me. winning the race became an obsession for me.

the trail kept getting steeper and steeper, and the day hotter and hotter. thankfully the bloodsuckers stayed at the bottom by the lakes. the new boots initiated a conflict with my feet, which the socks simply were in no position to mediate. my clothing drenched, i was determined to beat my opponent to the top. i passed a dense spider cocoon containing thousands of flies and mosquitoes. i felt a sense of gratitude for all the hard-working spiders that kept the forest clean for me.

finally neck-in-neck, we reached the trail split. to the right, an easy .2 mile ascent. to the left, a .2 mile cliff climb. it was too hard to pass up. i gave up the easy victory for a fun challenge. scaling the cliff, squeezing through a tiny cave, to emerge on the other side to the best view i've seen all year. dozens of little lakes, dotted with islands, little houses, and boat trails. a panorama extending to all sides. i took it all in. took a picture or two. as i breathed the thin mountain air (yeah right) and looked down upon the world, my fucking cell phone started ringing. my grandfather frantically trying to reach me to understand what appointment he had in 3 weeks, clearly a very urgent matter.

the spell broken, i completed the ascent to find my foe snacking on the spoils of his victory, and greeted him with a cheerful hello. apparently we were not the only ones to reach the top, as my miniscule friends promptly set up orbits around me, and proceeded to fly into my ears, nose, mouth and shorts. my meditation was cut short by my inability to concentrate on just one bug, so i proceeded to Mt. Percival. It turned out to be no Morgan, but still a reasonable peak. It was all downhill from here.

the descent was great. the tiredness melted away as i converted all my earned potential energy. i alternated between a walk and a gallop down the steeper parts, which is one of the funnest forms of physical activity i've ever done (i clearly need to try mountain biking). it's just amazing how you can be moving way too fast for you brain to process the changing surroundings, and yet you feel your body adjust and your feet find the right places to step, avoiding all obstacles, and propelling you inexorably forward.

as i was completing the hike, it started to rain. suddenly everything smelled so great and fresh. the trees absorbed most of the rainfall, with only a few drops reaching me. the sound would tense and relax, as the rain tried to figure out how serious it was. apparently not very, cause it stopped before i even reached my car.

in the end 5 mile loop took a total of about 2.5 hours. the thunderstorm gathered, and i skipped camping in favor of my comfortable bed. driving through the thunderstorm was great. i stopped to get liquor in a rest area, at which point my radar detector told me, for the first time ever, that a train was approaching, which i could only assume was my cue to get my ass home.

new hampshire rules. who wants to go next weekend?