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How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. Annie Dillard
_Morning y'all,

It's a gloomy day atop LeConte. I have a feeling that we're stuck in a temporary cloud. The high yesterday reached 41 degrees. The overnight low was 33 degrees. It was 40 degrees and cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received no new precipitation, but there is still patchy snow on the ground. The trails are very slick with the daily melt and nightly refreezing we've had lately. I'd be sure to pack some sort of traction devices, but I've seen plenty of folks who make it to the summit in sneakers. I guess it's a matter of how comfortable you are with descending a giant mountain covered in ice... or they have better health care coverage than I do.

I spent another day resting my knee, thinking positive thoughts and hoping it's on the mend. Patience is a virtue. I read plenty on the porch of cabin 6, soaking in the sun... I am finally starting to make a dent in my mountain man library, so there is a silver lining in being hurt. I also made a couple of loaves of 'bourbanana bread'. Guess what the delicious secret ingredient is! I've had a few folks ask me what I'd appreciate if they generously want to bring me an 'offering', so I figured it's easier to just be transparent about it. I expect nothing, but would prefer to just be open about it rather than responding to comments every now and then...

I always appreciate fresh greens, berries, smoothies (naked, odwalla, or bolthouse), interesting teas and any reading material, especially the New York Times. If you want to go above and beyond, my current wants in the paperback department include:

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihaly
The Sense of Beauty by George Santayana
Confessions of a Barbarian by Edward Abbey
Finding Beauty in a Broken World by Terry Tempest Williams
Nature's Kindred Spirits by James I. McClintock
Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems by Gary Snyder

A big thank you to all the kind souls who enrich my life up here with fresh food & good literature!

 


Comments

doug y
01/09/2013 9:48am

Lindi: When you're standing on the summit of Kilimanjaro, take a moment or so, face toward the Great Rift Valley to the northwest, close your eys, and you might just hear the ancient voices of your early ancestors ! The valley is actually around 3700 mi long and has a long history involving plate tectonics. Remember, too, that when you're on that peak you're at an elevation of 19,341 ft, or about 2.9 times higher than Mt. Leconte ! It's cool there as well. You'll surely enjoy the experience ! Have a great trip.

Reply
Charlotte
01/09/2013 11:57am

JP, enjoy reading your daily blog up there- brings a little wilderness to my desk daily. I think you have posted this before but i could be wrong- have you posted trail jounals before and if so who, what and where.your a great writer and gifted with words. Have a great day!

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Tony Ga
01/09/2013 2:10pm

If you haven't already, got check out PrayerWalker's Trail Journal @
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=13991
as she prepares for her Appalachian Trail hike. Check out her link to Homes For Our Troops. Wishing her the best during her adventure.

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01/09/2013 2:20pm

sir Mountain Man, sir,

Questions to ponder:

-Is the world too much with us?

-When is a snake just a necklace?

-Did Restaino do the unthinkable?

-How much beauty, love, and friendship can a mountaintop bear over 48 hours in winter?

Stay thoughtful, stay mighty, keep the bourbon in the bread,

-Prodigal Hiker, Carrier of Water Jugs

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JP
01/09/2013 3:18pm

Prodigal Hiker, I can't freaking wait to see you! Hope you're having fun checking my blog at work.
'
And when is a snake just a necklace is definitely a koan worth contemplating until you arrive in a month.

So much love!

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01/09/2013 3:01pm

oh hey nice annie quote today

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JP
01/09/2013 4:31pm

If this is The Earl...
I figured you'd like it.

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Cindy
01/09/2013 9:40pm

Really enjoy your posts. We hiked there in Oct a week before the big storm; first time since 1973. Would like your recipe or is it a secret?

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Debi
01/10/2013 10:14am

Oh gees, I forgot to post. Better do it. I've been battling ice in my 1/4 mile long driveway myself. I have to find my yax trax to just get out of the driveway, the country back roads are all bare.

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Tilman
01/10/2013 2:48pm

Interesting. Anyone can look up long fancy words and quotes
in a good dictionary, or from an internet search. In the rare instances where your words are your own, from your heart and mind, then you have been blessed with a gift.
"your" : possessive, belonging to you

"you're" : contraction for "you are", as in "you are are a
great writer"; NOT "your" a great writer..........

Reply
JP
01/10/2013 2:57pm

Tilman,
Wow, that's the closest thing I've gotten to 'hate mail' on the comments section. I'm honored.

I'll be sure to keep an eye on my grammar with you watching.

Oh, and fyi, I don't look up fancy words and quotes in an internet search, they all come what I find in their original source readings. Enjoy the blog!

Reply
Tilman
01/11/2013 8:27am

Hate mail !? No hate intended nor implied in my comments, and I somewhat resent it that you called them that. If you read my comments then you know that I said that if the words are someone's own, then you are blessed with a gift. And I never said that you looked up words, just that anyone can, and in no way was that a hateful comment, just a fact. Information is readily available to us. You're obviously well-read and educated and that's most commendable. As regards grammar, I never mentioned a name and was simply pointing out a simple mistake. In this age of political correctness even the slightest deviation from that can bring down criticism, but if my pointing that out, in a general sense, offended anyone, I'm sorry, but I stand by the comment. If I had made such a mistake when I submitted my thesis for my Masters degree, it would never have been awarded. Perhaps my attempt to simply be helpful was not the thing to do. But I assure you that hate mail is not an area I go into. This is a nice blog site and I respect and enjoy it.

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Really
01/17/2013 7:48pm

Seriously... How do people take the time to type up stuff like this. Ridiculous!

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Myster Speler
01/17/2013 3:52pm

I'm sure you meant "Master's degree."

Reply
Too Funny
01/17/2013 5:29pm

LOL!!!

Reply



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