Hiking Mt Megunticook

We picked up a backpack carrier for Ro yesterday and took it for a spin today up Megunticook to Maiden's cliff.

This is going to open up a lot of possibilities that the little Snugli front carrier didn't and we're both really excited about it. Finally back to hiking!! And just in time for fall as Bonnie noted.

We've got a sled picked out for winter and we're looking forward to pulling him through the snow on our snowshoes. I can see a winter summit push coming up for Ragged this winter. Not when we need ice axes or crampons or anything like that, but maybe a deep snow hike with him all bundled up in his snow suit. Can't wait!

We left the parking lot this morning around 11:15 or so. The hike to Maiden's cliff is pretty easy and we made it up there in about a 1/2 hour of fairly slow walking. I had my pack, which is stuffed full of surival stuff (that comes in handy when hiking) and some food and water, and Bonnie carried Bowling Ball Butt in the baby backpack. (How's that for alliteration?)

Once we got to the top we stopped at the cross for a little while to enjoy the view then went a little further along the ridge trail and laid out the sleeping bag liner, broke out some snacks, and sat back and enjoyed the beautiful day and the incredible view. And what a beautiful day it was!

There are more pictures, but they're on Bonnie's camera and I don't feel like messing around with it right now. So, you'll just have to wait for the scenery pictures.

The Little Guy

Watching the sun set...

Here's me and Rowan on top of Spruce Moutain here in Maine a couple of days ago. We put him in the baby carrier and he tags along with us whever we go.

Rowan is a little over four months old now and it's really amazing how fast he's growing. He went to the doctors last night and weighed in at a whopping 17 1/2 lbs, which puts him in the 90th percentile of his age group. He's a beast!

Bonnie and I have started taking him on short hiking trips and it's really fun to watch him experience new things. Bonnie loves to take him and put his feet in the grass, or let him run his hand over some leaves, or let him get his feet wet in the pool. All new and exciting experiences for him.

He's really becoming quite the little chatter box too. I like to tease Bonnie that it's her side of the family manifesting itself. In the mornings when she's getting him ready for daycare he starts yelling at her and can get himself worked up into a pretty good lather. It's pretty entertaining watch him.

Rowan will experience the great outdoors. Bonnie and I love to hike, camp, climb, ice climb, and anything else that will take us outside and keep us there. Cheyenne (my daughter) isn't as interested in being outside, but she does know how to handler heself to an extent. If I give her a match and tell her to get a fire lit she can do it. Not bad for a 17 year old. I've got a good picture of Chey taken on Mt. Katahdin a couple of years ago that I'll publish here later.

Here's a picture of Ro in the carrier.

One last picture of Bonnie and Ro: