2011 is the year of more mountains...

A view of Squam Lake from a Mount Morgan -->









Ever since hearing about Greylock in Bryson's A Walk in the Woods it has been on my radar. This MA highpoint, measuring just shy of 3500 ft, is a beast for the Bay State. Ah, how good it feels to have been officially introduced to the winter AT.

East of Eden

I finished reading this fantastic novel last month and found it intriguing how Steinbeck uses the biblical parable of Cain and Abel as a springboard for his story about early 20th century ranch life in California's Salinas Valley. The characters are well developed and complex. The Trask and Hamilton descendants differ in many ways, yet their stories become entwined in a very believable manner. Good intentions merge with sinister behavior as characters vie for love, affection and self fulfillment. The philosophical reverence and benevolence inherent in Samuel and Lee is contrasted beautifully by Kate's nasty deceitfulness. And finally we are left with the simple idea of Timshel-a Hebrew word meaning 'thou mayest', a notion that choice sways destiny, where we cannot help but visualize Cal's moral aptitude evolve after receiving his father's deathbed blessing.