Jesus defeats Mount Katahdin

     Mount Katahdin was named by the Penobscot Indians and stands for "The Greatest Mountain".  Standing at 5268 feet it is not only the tallest mountain in Maine, but also the terminus of the Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Trail is a marked hiking trail that starts in Springer Mountain Georgia, and is roughly 2179 miles long. Hiking the entirety of the AT is one of my future goals, hopefully to be accomplished within the next 5 years. I am hoping to give this to myself as a present for finishing nursing school.

     This particular trip up Katahdin was with my friend Justin. I met Justin while working at the Washington County Jail, and he has since become one of my good friends. We have spent many a night in jail talking about photography, hiking, and our goals in life. I admire him greatly, and feel like he taught me a lot about working in law enforcement.

     We had intentions of doing the knifes edge on this trip, however weather was not on our side on this particular day. Actually a park ranger made us sign something saying we would not hike the Knifes Edge. The Knifes Edge is a 1.1 mile long trail that goes from Pamola Peak to Baxter Peak. There are parts that narrow to about 4 feet wide with 2,000-foot drops to either side, and has climbed roughly 19 lives since 1963. It's truly an amazing sight to see. We were both disappointed, however our mission was clear. We decided to hike up Abol/Hunt, and descend on the Hunt/Katahdin Stream. We were under good authority that Abol was a great trail, or so we thought. There is this guy named AJ out there, I know he is Justin's friend, but if I ever meet him I am going to punch him in the face.

     The climb starts out well, it is hot outside, a little cloudy, but not bad for climbing. The Abol Trail that has "a few area that are steep" quickly turns into two miles of near vertical rock climbing. Hey I like a challenge, however I didn't know what we were in for. The weather was off and on, there was a little rain. As we continued to climb and the trees were getting smaller, it was getting colder and the wind was picking up. About half a mile from the table it started to rain, so we busted out the rain gear. The real mission started when we got to the table.

     Oh look a sign! Signs are always very exciting to see on a climb. So now what has started as a day in the mid 70's partly cloudy, has turned into rain, winds of 50-60mph and rough 40 degrees Fahrenheit. At this point we had about 1 more mile left to get to Baxter Peak. It was the longest mile ever!

     Victory is ours! Mopsy and Flopsy(nicknames given to us by the most amazing Lt. ever. You know who you are...Judy) bag Mount Katahdin.

    
    Here you can see the actual sign. I know in the last one you cannot see it, however trust me, it's there! I like how the camera truly shows how wicked the weather was. Justin was not even 5 feet away from me when he took this.

     The descent was long, however the Hunt/Katahdin Stream Trail was fun. There are many places on this trail that have some tough scrambles. The entire way down we kept telling ourselves there was pizza at the bottom. When it comes to Justin and I, pizza is an amazing motivator. Our last hurdle was the walk from the bottom of the trail back to Abol. The park ranger told us it was only a few hundred feet or so. I am not sure how this translated to another mile mostly up hill. God bless the people who were driving by and took pity on us.

     It was one of the most difficult climbs I have ever made, a lot of it I'm sure was due to extremely adverse weather conditions. However there was pizza, and then there was beer, a bon fire, and then we were back in out little "Cozy Cabin".

Jesus takes some R&R in the Wisconsin Dells

     My parents own an RV trailer that the keep at a seasonal camp ground near the Wisconsin Dells. Taking advantage of some beautiful weather I decided to spend a weekend with them at camp. One thing I love about going to the trailer is that it reminds me of being in Maine, and it is a good place to just sit around and drink beer all day. A set of family friends also have a trailer a few site down, and Saturday night dinner is always a big affair. Most of Saturday afternoon is spent doing errands not only for dinner, but also for the week.

     "Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35

     Here we find Jesus at the Elite Bakery in Baraboo. This is a wonderful little shop that makes breads, doughnuts, and bagels using all natural ingredients and no preservatives. I am a particular fan of the sport bread, however we also got a loaf of the rye bread, and a lemon bar that was über tasty!

Next we found ourselves at the apple orchard. It was the first weekend of the apple season. There was not much out this weekend, however if you are in the area, there is not better place to buy an apple pie that the Ski-Hi orchard.

     "Then God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it, they will be yours for food." Genesis 1:29

     It is not only fun to go eat apple pie, candy apples, and other home made local treats, but also fun to go play among the trees. It makes me a little said that apple season is here, because soon the trees will turn and winter will be here. However on this beautiful day, I chose to rejoice in apple season as this means pumpkins are not far behind! Say it with me, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins!

     Down the street from the trailer there is a farmer that cultivates sunflowers. You know you never realize just how short you are until you stand next to a sunflower. On errand of the day that Jesus decided not to show up for was the meat market. The lighting just didn't flatter his subtle characteristics.