On the road...

Thursday, July 30, 2015

I thank you for the kindness
And the times when you got tough
And, papa, I don't think
I said, "I love you" near enough. 

‘Leader of the Band’ by Dan Fogelberg

I suppose I am no different in remembering the birthdates of significant people in my life and today my father would be 87.  I cannot understate the impact and influence he had on making me the man I am today…for better or worse.  I owe him a debt I can only repay by being a good dad and person to those less fortunate than me.  He was a man of honor code that he lived by to the day he died.  I try to do the same.

I drove through the night anticipating tomorrow’s climb and wondering how my heel would react and what my level of conditioning would mean.  My goal was Noonmark Mountain and the topo map and trail description told me it was a hand full.  The trail to the peak is only two miles, but with over 2,000 feet of elevation change, it would be steep almost every step of the way.  My training has been sporadic at best and with little riding, muscle endurance in the legs would be circumspect. 

I rolled of I87 ten miles south of Keene Valley around midnight and headed straight for the campsites just off the freeway and along the river.  To my dismay, they were occupied, so I drove into town and the public parking lot where I have spent many a night by the side of my car in a sleeping bag and gazing into the big skies of the North Country.  This night offered a luminous full moon and little opportunity to witness the vastness of stars in the heavens.  It was cool and a dew was settling upon me as I nodded off to sleep.