Humanity-Free

...That is how I am spending my New Year's Eve:

Junk food (Cheetos, pepperoni and Coca-Cola), several episodes of "Freaks and Geeks", and R.E.M.'s final cd, "Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage 1982-2011".

See you in 2012...

Christmas Day

I set my alarm for 8 am so I wouldn't sleep through the day. When I got up I fed Mr. Ween, made coffee (the always amazing Peet's Sumatra), and had a pear, scallops wrapped in bacon, and a few Christmas cookies for breakfast...

...and then I frittered the day away in front of the television, reading, and online, ignoring the world after a hectic holiday retail season. I used my $50 Amazon gift card for the following items:

• "Flight" Volume 4.
• "Flight" Volume 6.
• R.E.M.'s final compilation album.
• and the "Flyboys" DVD.

Christmas Eve

I got up at 5 am, worked 7 am to 4 pm, and after showering and wrapping the last few presents for my family, headed over to my parents' house for Christmas Eve dinner and the exchange of gifts.

Ma had made a small roast beef and a big ham, plus gravy and a big spread of chips, dips, fruits and vegetables. Sarah brought scallops wrapped in bacon and a variety of cookies and brownies she'd spent the day making. Dinner was a feast!

When it was time to exchange gifts, I am pleased to report that all of mine went over well with the recipients. Jared & Drew tore into their Lego sets immediately after all was done. Sarah & Jon were thrilled with their Gibbett Hill Grill gift certificate. Dad thought the chiller cubes (to keep the ice coffee cold, but not watered down) were a cool idea. And Kevin practically drooled over the 3 steaks I'd wrapped with his electric grill brush. Hayden's binoculars and Celia's canvases (and the twins' "Oz" graphic novel hardcovers) were received happily as well.

On my end, I received the following amazing gifts:

• a $30 gift card to Amazon from J & Stacie.
• a $50 gift card to Amazon from Dad & Ma.
• 3 bags of coffee (see photo) from Dad & Ma.
• a $30 gift card to Best Buy from Sarah & Jon.
• a $30 gift card to The 99 from Kevin & Holly.
• 3 pure 1 oz. bars of silver from my dad (to go with the one he gave all four kids decades ago).
• A book of Sting's lyrics from his Police and solo careers from Ma.
• A few candle holders and a bunch of Yankee Candle 'Fireside' tea lights.
• And amazingly, from Dad, an author's library edition of Mark Twain's "A Tramp Abroad" - signed by the author! How cool is that?

It was a great family evening of food and fun, and as always, over far too soon...

Mountain Quest 14: Gap Mountain

Today, after sitting around trying not to think about my sore throat, and how annoyed with myself I'd be if I didn't make the most of my one day off this week, I loaded my backpack and headed off to Troy, NH to climb Gap Mountain.

 I got to the parking lot at 2:45 and set off into the woods. Soon enough I passed a guy and his two dogs, and after that I never saw another human. The beginning of the hike was easy, a wide-open meander. Then at the stream I hooked up with the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail and made my way to the summit. There were many cool features to the hike: there were small sets of stone staircases of 3-5 steps; wooden terrace-style steps; a steep rock scramble near the summit; and fog all day. When I got to the summit at 3:45 I felt like I was wandering over a grassy sand dune at a beach to get to the ocean. The view from the top, which is supposed to feature a spectacular vista including the mighty Mount Monadnock, was a blank wall of fog for 360 degrees.

I ate my apple and my almonds, took a few photos (including a trio of goofy Lego Star Wars ones), and then began my descent just as the rain began to mist all around me. I listened to music from Sidewalk, Vanessa Kafka, and Kristin Cifelli, making my way carefully down the cliffs, and then enjoying a dusk jaunt the rest of the way back to my car, where as soon as I got inside, the skies opened in a major downpour. The ol' Kenozoic luck with weather was in play once again!

Side note: I always enjoy the music part of my hikes (the descent during non-loop trail hikes), and I always feel inspired to rush home and practice my guitar playing, but by the time I get home and clean & fed and settled, I never fail to forget all about said inspiration until the next hike...

Mountain Quest 13: Wachusett 5

Today, on an unseasonably warm (62 F) afternoon, from 2:47 pm to a little after 5 pm, I completed "Mountain Quest 2011" #13, hike number five of the "Wachusett" series.

I began on the West Side Trail. The beginning of it was a couple of steep scrambles up some treacherous rocks (with several inviting slabs that wobbled under my weight), and then a leveling out as I came to the junction with the Semuhenna Trail. That leg of the hike was pretty smooth and rather boring, as there was no discernible incline for much of it. Then when it met the Harrington Trail, it was all near-vertical scrambles again, as expected from MQ #4 (Wach 2). It took me an hour to ascend, and while I was at the summit the sun began to slowly set. I ate my apple, talked to an older gentleman about hikes we have both completed, and then I began my descent.

I raced the sunset back down to my car and lost, but I enjoyed every minute of the hike down. I listened to Kristin Cifelli, Shania Twain, Mojave 3 and Vanessa Kafka. I took photos of the spectacular sunset. And I had great fun with the spooky downward scrambles in the near-dark. I have great night vision, so I was always able to see the trail blazes, and the fallen leaves that had filled in the trail kept it lighter than the surrounding brush.

If my day off next week is as unseasonably warm as today was, I plan on climbing one of four peaks: Gap Mountain in southern NH; Bald Mountain near Bennington, VT; or one of the last two peaks I need for the entire Wapack Trail series, Kidder or New Ipswich.

Eye See You...

Wishful Thinking

I got up at 11pm for a 3am work shift (total hours of sleep: 4), busted my butt at work from 3am to 1 pm, and spent 40 minutes (not bad at all) in sunny day traffic, and all I could think about is my next hike. If I wasn't so tired, I would have kept on going to Mt. Wachusett to climb the 5th side. It's 60 degrees out in central Massachusetts on November 25th!

Monday is supposed to be in the mid 50s (if a bit cloudy). Don't be surprised if I wind up atop a local peak that day...

Happy Birthday to Me

I turned 43 today.

I closed up shop at my one-year experiment, Voyage 42, and am back to an ongoing blog. I've decided not to pick up where I left off at the blog I kept before V42, and to begin anew here, which makes sense since I've been establishing Kenozoic as my online moniker for well over a year now.

I had cereal & coffee for breakfast at 6:30, went online for awhile, and then read issues 2 and 3 of "Legion of Super-Heroes" before showering and heading over to Dad & Ma's for Thanksgiving. I watched the Packers/Lions game with Dad, then all three of us ate dinner with Jean Marie. Dad & Ma gave me a birthday card with a $50 bill inside, and then I had a huge slab of chocolate cream pie. I left around 4 and headed home to wind down for tonight's early bedtime in anticipation in tomorrow morning's 1 am awakening (to be at work for 3 am, and Black Friday's 4 am open time). Comics, television, and bed ended my day.