Trail Pilgrims & Peakbaggers

August print give-away

It is September 12, and we are still awaiting those familiar apple crisp mornings, the kind where the air is so clean and chilly that you need a light pair of gloves when you take to the forest. In the past, they'd begin midway through August, and we'd be gifted with nippy nights and seventy-degree afternoons. But not this year.

What was tied for the hottest August on record is now a sultry, thick-aired September. Neither Samwise nor I fare well in these conditions, so we've taken care in choosing our hiking days.

Thankfully, we are getting our miles in on the flats and some of the lesser-used mountains. We take numerous breaks on the steeper sections, and the views from the top are always worth whatever penance our bodies pay during the climbs. Nevertheless, we will both walk easier when this dreadful air thins a bit.