Having a Fav-D!!!!

On a steep descent, early in the morning, I heard what I thought was a falling rock, then saw this poor guy clacking down the rocks. This is what it means to have a tough shell (or a thick skin, in human terms); but, alas, as my dear pop-in-law would say, "I'm not a rock, I bleed."

This is the path to wealth and enlightenment. Jessie really digs my get-rich-quick-through-a-diet-scheme idea. She keeps hounding me that we need to write a book. Yesterday I came up with the concept, even tried it out to great effect. Let me tell you what happened. Returning from the somewhat stressful events of car shopping in Bangor, I started thinking how it would be nice to tear off a hunk of the French bread I'd purchased that was sitting in the trunk. The next thing you know I've pulled off to the side of Route 9 and I'm stepping out into the furnace to retrieve the nutrient deficient loaf. Well, needless to say, on the long drive that followed I didn't just tear off a hunk; I ate the whole thing. So the next morning I'm thinking, time for recompense. That's when I came up with the million-dollar idea. Fav-D (Fruit & Veg Day). Whenever you've been bad--hangover, ice cream, whatever--you spend the next day eating nothing but fruit and vegetables. I actually quite enjoyed it, feasting on mangos, kiwis, greens, smoothies and gazpacho. Of course we'll need to flesh the thing out by, you know, maybe coming up with a bit of text, but I thought I'd give you a sneak peak into the process of how an empire is born.

Helped a friend buy a car today in Bangor. It was darn near 100 degrees so of course on the car lots it was a whole new brand of suffering (not just the regular kind of listening to the canned b.s. of the automobile trade). Sort of makes you miss the trail, if you know what I mean. Yes, once again, I say: nature is good; modern life, I'm still trying to figure it out.

A narrow path through the wildflowers.

Notice the absence of electric lines, speed boats, ice cream stands and cheap t-shirt shops.

The nicest privy in the woods.

Most nights I slept in my tent, but on the last night I sacked out in this nifty lean-to. I was reading Tomatoland on my itouch, but shortly after this picture was taken my battery died. No matter, sleep isn't usually hard to find after a day on the trail.

Flume in Pollywog Gorge, site of an old dam where the water roars like a steady roll of thunder. Hiking is best when done alongside a body of water. The 100-Mile Wilderness contains numerous streams, rivers and lakes situated next to the path. We camped alongside Rainbow Stream, then walked next to the stream until we reached Rainbow Lake, which provided another five miles of eye candy.

Sunlight penetrates "the green tunnel." It was fairly cool and comfortable for most of our hike. When I first walked out onto the Golden Road at the end of the Wilderness I was stunned by the heat. Luckily I was only steps from the Penobscot River which afforded me a refreshing bath. But let me tell you something: when I opened up my pack this morning to throw my clothes in the wash: foul!!!

The peak of White Cap, which is reputed to have some of the best views in Maine. Mostly fog when I was up there, but as I was talking to Cara on the phone (mountain peaks are about the only places you get phone reception on the trail), the fog began to clear and it was quite a stunning sight. Now you would expect a mountain called White Cap to be a difficult climb; a mountain called Little Boardman not so hard. But the opposite was the case. The difference, I am convinced, is not physical; rather, it is based on expectation. Geared up for a challenge, you end up thinking, "that wasn't so bad"; expecting a walk in the park, you say, "this thing is killing me!"

We decided to climb Mt. Katadhin in September with fresh legs (and fresh food!). Oatmeal and peanut butter don't do much for the palate after a few days. I ran out of dehydrated veggies and brown rice. Next time I'll use some recipes from the book Ernie loaned me: Lipsmackin' Vegeterian Backpackpackin'. There are 281 miles of AT in Maine. All we have left to do is Katadhin and Section 7, which runs to the border of New Hampshire. In other words, killer mountains. Fun, fun, fun or glutton for punishment?

Every morning there was lush beauty, but what did I do but miss my wife?

I saw a moose on the first day and then on the last, but this guy was just a few miles from home. I'll be sharing some photos of God's country (also known as the 100-Mile Wilderness) in the days ahead. Right now it's all about the z's.

Had a most pleasant afternoon stroll with Jake after a sleepy, rainy morning and before the more grueling hike that awaits tomorrow. So it's bye for now. Hopefully I'll have some fab photos to share upon my return.

Yes, I'll still be a plant-eater out on the trail. I leave Sunday for the 100 Mile Wilderness + Katadhin, so what you see pictured above is an 8-day supply of dehydrated veggies. I'll have them with instant whole grain brown rice every night for dinner. For lunch I'll have peanut butter and dried fruit on a tortilla. Breakfast will be just like home: oatmeal, fruit and soy milk (powdered). Sounds lacking in variety, I suppose, but I will also have the special treat of chocolate covered almonds and iced mint green tea.
A couple of people have mentioned to me that they tried to leave comments to no avail. Even Max (techno-geek) couldn't make it happen, so I'll stop taking those zeros so personally. I believe Max wanted to say something about the Burpee Challenge which he has finally begun. He's on day 6 or 7, so he may have already reached the point where he's not exactly loving me for the suggestion.

Apparently in Africa people have long compressed paper and other waste material to make bricks to use as cooking/heating fuel. I bought a paper brick-maker on-line and today made my first batch of bricks from newspaper and sawdust. It's a pretty simple contraption (and very inexpensive) and seems to work quite well. All you do is soak the newspaper and sawdust (or pulp from your juicer!) in a bucket or tub, then put the glop in molds, push down on the lever and, as my wife says, voila! I've bought bio-bricks in the past, which I really liked, but they are expensive. Free suits nicely, though, and what better way to get rid of junk mail than to watch it go up in flames?

The garden is off to a pretty good start. Today I planted some high-bush blueberries in front of the fence. Working up some ideas for potatoes and a couple of other things we didn't get into the ground this year. So now we've got the firewood, the maple syrup and the veggies. Next I guess we'll have to get a vehicle that runs on vegetable oil. I recently finished a book called Farewell My Subaru about that very subject. This guy from Long Island moves to New Mexico and buys a ranch that runs off the grid (using solar power). He also buys a diesel Ford F-250 which he converts to run off the left-over grease of a Chinese restaurant. This is one of the rare instances of having your cake and eating it too. He gets to drive a big honking truck and not feel guilty about it since he's not polluting the atmosphere. For now, as far as zero emissions go, I have to satisfy myself with the reel mower. Self-sufficiency is my North Star--I don't expect to actually get there, but it gives me direction.

Beets, carrot, kiwi, apple, kale, greens--what a flavor-fest! Speaking of fest, we had a festive time at our 4th of July barbeque with plenty of hamburgers and hot dogs, but a good mix of delicacies for the budding plant-eaters as well. I point out that we served meat just so I don't come off like the food-police or something, but the truth is I am becoming a lunatic. I apologize, in advance, to anyone who's stuck talking to me about food. The thing is that I just feel so good, and I'm the kind of guy that feels a need to share the joy. What I'm trying to say is that even if I come across as an insufferable fool, please know that my heart is in the right place.

Happy 4th of July!!! Hope you're lovin' your liberty.

This one's for you, Hieu! Jessie's Colby compatriots pitched their tents on the back forty (the woodlot), but, as predicted, our good friend Hieu opted for the plush comforts of the great indoors. Now, as to adventures in pink beds, I know nothing. And, if so required by the law, I will swear on a stack of Harry Potter books that, when I say I know nothing, I know nothing. Nothing, I tell you. Nothing.

I mean, what the heck, right?

5,000 Burpees!!! Now I can get on with the rest of my life.