Moving Onward and Upward

What would she think of her granddaughter now? Did she ever look up into the mountains that dotted her homestate's landscape and wonder about getting to the top? Or did she take them for granted?

We made our way easily and quickly through the woods until we reached a clearing. It was here that a few trails fanned out and the main trail made its way to the summit. It is only the last few yards that offer any real rocky terrain, and we wound our way to the top.

The top was crowded, even on a windy day. We relished jumping on the camel's rump and posing for photos! But this was not a day to linger, so we made our ways back down to the clearing. On the way down, however, it didn't take long for a bit of trail magic to appear.

Off in the distance, I spied a man with bright blonde hair and the image startled me, triggering a memory. Hadn't I seen his face before? Ahhh, yes, it was the hiker who posts his trip reports on www.mountainshadows.com.

"Mountain Shadows, David?" I asked. The light bulb went off and I saw the look of recognition on his face.

"Alpinista?" he asked.

Here we were, two people who had never met face to face before. Me, from Massachusetts. He, from New Hampshire. We, in Vermont. Meeting for the first time on a trail in the wilderness, but knowing each other as much as any strangers can know one another through a computer and then find ourselves in this same little patch of nature. Life is magical, especially in the mountains.

It was a great way to begin my next list: notching off the remaining 19 4,000 footers in New England.

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