and i'm back

OK, it's been a while since I posted.  It's been a weird few weeks.  Brooke and I took Hunter to Sesame Place in Pennsylvania for the very first family vacation just the three of us.  It was an absolute fucking blast.  Watching Hunter run around and go on rides and play was one of the best Dad moments I've had.  That joy was shortened when I got a phone call that a dear friend had passed unexpectedly.  We were still in PA when I got the call, and for the remaining three days I really leaned on Brooke, and unbeknownst to him, Hunter, to keep me afloat.  It's troubling how life can be so joyous and perfect at one moment and then so crushingly painful in the blink of an eye.  OK, enough about that.  He'd kick my ass if he knew I was sitting at my desk sulking like this.  
Anyways, Brooke and I have a hike coming up in a few weeks to the top of Mt. Greylock, the highest peak in MA at around 3,500 feet.  It's a short 8 mile loop that brings us to the summit on the second morning, but we're both pretty out of shape so we fully expect to get our asses kicked.  As for getting my ass kicked, a mere six days after that, I'm joining Bill, Byronn, and New Mark to hike a loop in the Lye Brook Wilderness in southwest Vermont . We haven't fully decided on the loop, but it should be somewhere between 14 and 20 miles long.  New Mark is in his 40's and has thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail.  Yes, that Appalachian Trail.  It's also Byronn's first real hike (aside from day-hiking in Zion, which on second thought is about as real as it gets).  It should be a blast, and hopefully I don't get lazy and post the trail reports and pictures months later.