Yesterday we drove to
Aroostook State Park to hike the twin peaks, North and South of Quaggy Jo Mountain. As
some regular readers may remember two years ago while here at the camp with only Patches with me I visited the park as part of what I refer to as adventure day on vacations here each year. With Ian joining us this year I wanted to take him there and he was happy to come. We proceeded along the same loop route, first the South Peak, to tackle the rock slide approach straight up. Easier than coming down it, then taking the saddle trail to the North Peak which has a view whereas the South does not. We had packed a lunch to eat while enjoying the view at the North Peak. The rock slide though short is quite steep and somewhat difficult for me and Patches made it obvious that he's not fond of it. Approaching his tenth birthday, two years older that our last climb he was showing his age but he made it to the top in fine shape and finished the hike in good spirits. On the way back to the camp we stopped to pick up some marinade for the chicken breast I bought Wednesday to grill for last night's supper. Once back at the camp there was time to relax lakeside for awhile before Margaret arrived to eat with us. I managed to not cause the chicken to become unrecognizable and it actually was very tasty. Cooked up some red potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn on the cob then finished it off with apple pie that Margaret had made for us. She left before dessert. Patches had spent the remainder of the afternoon sprawled out on the lawn in front of the camp recovering from the hiking excursion. When picking up the marinade I had bought him a rawhide bone as reward for making in through the hike. Once at the camp he accepted what I expected to consume him for the rest of the afternoon. That was not to be as he retreated to a shady spot on yard with the rawhide, nibble it a bit then just kept it nearby as he relaxed as best he knew how. Once supper was over he was up and showing his expectation for one of to throw the stick into the for him. Ian must have thrown it 30 or 40 times and Patches seemed to have limitless energy before we finally told him that was enough - and he was still wound up for more, standing on the
rampway to the lake with an intense stare of purpose. As dusk approached the sky was clearer than I can remember in a long time with barely a trace of any clouds, another beautiful evening. The evenings game Ian and I settled on was Yahtzee. It took three rounds, Ian won the first and third to capture the week's gaming championship. I knew I should have insisted on another game of cribbage. This concluded Ian's time at the camp for the week, I dropped him off in Caribou early this morning to take the bus to Portland where Carol will pick him. He has other fish to fry beginning with an
OA meeting tonight followed tomorrow with a trip to Mount
Katahdin as one of the Assistant Scoutmasters with the Boy Scout Troop to hike to up that mile high peak on Saturday. It was a lot of fun for me that he had the time to come up to camp and that he was able to chill for a bit after maintaining a busy schedule from his studies and activities at college, six weeks of his research project, time on call as an EMT and the trip to Indiana. I'll see him at home when he returns on Sunday. For the remainder of the week old Patches and I will be here at the camp for most of the time in our semi-solitude relaxation mode.
This is the view from near the top of of the South Peak approach.
The view to the north from the North Peak.
Great to be on top.
Tranquil evening sunset.
Yesterday we drove to Aroostook State Park to hike the twin peaks, North and South of Quaggy Jo Mountain. As some regular readers may remember two years ago while here at the camp with only Patches with me I visited the park as part of what I refer to as adventure day on vacations here each year. With Ian joining us this year I wanted to take him there and he was happy to come. We proceeded along the same loop route, first the South Peak, to tackle the rock slide approach straight up. Easier than coming down it, then taking the saddle trail to the North Peak which has a view whereas the South does not. We had packed a lunch to eat while enjoying the view at the North Peak. The rock slide though short is quite steep and somewhat difficult for me and Patches made it obvious that he's not fond of it. Approaching his tenth birthday, two years older that our last climb he was showing his age but he made it to the top in fine shape and finished the hike in good spirits. On the way back to the camp we stopped to pick up some marinade for the chicken breast I bought Wednesday to grill for last night's supper. Once back at the camp there was time to relax lakeside for awhile before Margaret arrived to eat with us. I managed to not cause the chicken to become unrecognizable and it actually was very tasty. Cooked up some red potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn on the cob then finished it off with apple pie that Margaret had made for us. She left before dessert. Patches had spent the remainder of the afternoon sprawled out on the lawn in front of the camp recovering from the hiking excursion. When picking up the marinade I had bought him a rawhide bone as reward for making in through the hike. Once at the camp he accepted what I expected to consume him for the rest of the afternoon. That was not to be as he retreated to a shady spot on yard with the rawhide, nibble it a bit then just kept it nearby as he relaxed as best he knew how. Once supper was over he was up and showing his expectation for one of to throw the stick into the for him. Ian must have thrown it 30 or 40 times and Patches seemed to have limitless energy before we finally told him that was enough - and he was still wound up for more, standing on the rampway to the lake with an intense stare of purpose. As dusk approached the sky was clearer than I can remember in a long time with barely a trace of any clouds, another beautiful evening. The evenings game Ian and I settled on was Yahtzee. It took three rounds, Ian won the first and third to capture the week's gaming championship. I knew I should have insisted on another game of cribbage. This concluded Ian's time at the camp for the week, I dropped him off in Caribou early this morning to take the bus to Portland where Carol will pick him. He has other fish to fry beginning with an OA meeting tonight followed tomorrow with a trip to Mount Katahdin as one of the Assistant Scoutmasters with the Boy Scout Troop to hike to up that mile high peak on Saturday. It was a lot of fun for me that he had the time to come up to camp and that he was able to chill for a bit after maintaining a busy schedule from his studies and activities at college, six weeks of his research project, time on call as an EMT and the trip to Indiana. I'll see him at home when he returns on Sunday. For the remainder of the week old Patches and I will be here at the camp for most of the time in our semi-solitude relaxation mode.
This is the view from near the top of of the South Peak approach.
The view to the north from the North Peak.
Great to be on top.
Tranquil evening sunset.
1 comment:
Great pics, I like one one of my three guys -C
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