Maine Recreation

I know, I know… where are the new hiking pics you ask. I did hike tumbledown last week but unfortunately I forgot my camera, lol. Whatevah, I’m french, thats how I roll. I tweeked my knee good on the way down and hve been down and out since… of course the weather has been amazing.
I ordered a few things from Amazon last week, I figured since ive been putting all my time and money into my budding binnis’ I could splurge a bit this week. I purhased a book and DVD called “johnny got his gun". Its the meaning behind metallicas song ‘one’. If you dont know the story google it, you will never hear the song the same.
I also purchased a book by Michael Behe called ‘The edge of Evolution: The search for the limits of Darwinism’. Seems like it will be a good read. The Professor has created a theory he calls irreducible complexity. His theories seem to fall somewhere in between creationism and darwinism but point to intelligent design. Again should be a good read.

Patience is the ability to endure waiting, delay, or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset, or to persevere calmly when faced with difficulties. Patience is something many, including myself, are lacking. Patience is one of the hardest lessons in life to learn, perhaps only surpassed by humility. Patience is also the name of a beautiful brown eyed baby.

These are the first pictures Ive seen of her since the week of her birth.

Look at those big brown eyes!! Im such a sucker for brown eyes, Uncle Owen is going to be spoiling her for sure .

She is so cute! I cant believe I havent met her yet, in fact its been 5 years since Ive seen my sister. This must and will change. I think I’ll teach Patience a few Judo throws and maybe a choke to keep the boys in their place.

Eyebrow Ridge is another hike in Grafton Knotch State Park. It actually starts in the same area as Table Rock, Mt. Speck and Bald Pate. This hike gives an amazing view of all three of the areas mentioned above. Because of the nature of the trail and the commanding view this is by far my favorite trail to hike.

The trail itself is about the same distance as Table Rock however the nature of the trail and the summit being 300ft higher then Table Rock make this a challenging Hike.

The most challenging part of this hike happens very soon. Once you get to the base of the ridge the trail is almost completely verticle. Here are some pictures from our first rest stop just after the hard climb up.

These pictures were taken at our first resting spot.

On your left we see my cousin Shannon and his phillipino love slave Jesse. =) actually Jesse is his son. Hmm that sounds bad.... I mean Jesse is not Shannons love slave at all, he is his son!

This year they have added some metal spikes with a metal line running through for hikers to pull themselves up the steep incline, prior to this we had to use the root system as a ladder to accend.

The open rock face here gives a great view of Bald Pate a few miles south down the appalachian trail. These pictures were taken early in the year and you can see the benefits of hiking early or late in the season. The sky is clear and the air is crisp.

Well its been raining all week and is supposed to rain the rest of the week so I'm going crazy inside. I guess I can use this time productively and get this up to date with my hikes. Look for some new posts soon.

Tumbledown Mtn. holds many special memories for me which makes it one of my favorite hikes. This is the first mountain I had ever climbed and for many years, the only one. It is situated in a very small town called weld, insite Mt. Blue State Park. The park offers excelent camping areas equipped with grills and lean-tos on the shore of Web Lake.

There are actually two ways to get up this mountain fromthe road, the Brook Trail and the Loop Trail. I dont have pictures of the Loop yet so currently you will only see the Brook Trail.

The Parking area for the Brook Trail is small but adequate. There are usually a few cars there so it should be hard to miss.

The first part of the hike is a very gradual incline as you make your way to the mountain. A stream closely follows the trail so be sure to bring some bug spray, they are pretty thick at the base. After a mile or two you will get to the base of the mountain, which means you are roughly 1/3 of the way to the summit. You will hike past some of the beautiful scenery below.

Taking the Brook Trail to the summit does not have the same great spots to view the valley as the forest is thick until the very top however if you like the pictures above this trail is full of life.

Once you get to the top you will have a great view of Mt. Blue State Park and Web Lake. And if you have it in you there are two more peaks to explore if you choose.