Hiking the Hunt Trail on Mount Katahdin

The short version:

Despite less than ideal weather, an unfamiliar climb and being completely out of shape we made a good show of almost reaching the highest point in Maine. The Hunt Trail is 5.4 miles long and about 4200 vertical feet elevation gain. We made it about 4.9 miles and less than 500 vertical feet from the summit before turning back. At one point we actually stopped and downclimbed a bit because the weather was causing us concern. If we hadn't had that delay we might have made the summit, or maybe not, we pushed ourselves to our limits with this one so early in the season.

( Long version: )

Pictures (I decided not to inline them because they are very large the post was long enough already):

The beginning of the boulder field below the Iron Ladder

A progression of pictures to show the scale of the boulder field. First pic is derien in some boulders, see if you can find where the first picture was taken in the second picture. The third and final pictures give you closeups.
Derien in boulder field, first in progression
Looking up at the boulder field, second in progression
Close up highlighted, boulder field, third in progression
Close up, boulder field, final in progression The arrow marks the camera position.

Tableland in the cloud.

The view west from above the Iron Ladder

A hardy little bird above treeline
One of the many butterflies

reading (Lost in a Good Book)

I finished "Lost in a Good Book" this afternoon. It was a fun followup to "The Eyre Affair". I thought this one had a more solid feel for some reason I can't really place. Maybe it's that the minor characters get more development and exercise. I can't believe Fforde left so many things unfinished at the end of this one. If you buy this book, buy "The Well of Lost Plots" at the same time because you're going to want to keep reading.

37. Jasper Fforde "Lost in a Good Book"