At the Base of Mount Euclid

Finally, the bum tendon in my foot seems to have recovered enough to allow me to resume my hiking pastime. My dog (my best hiking buddy) is also recovered enough from a winter surgery to handle a good, long trek through the woods. So off we went.

My dog is an excellent hiker. Even in the fall, when the trails disappear under piles of fallen leaves, he can pick out the way to go, leading us safely onward. I'm sure he does some of this by sense of smell, but I've learned to see what he sees and I've gotten better at picking out overgrown, under-used trails, that still lead to some wonderful Brigadoon.

With his uncanny sense of finding the way, we've made the best discoveries...a ruin from a long-gone pioneer settlement, a breathtaking (and walkable) ridge between two deep gulches, a secret clearing that only the deer seem to know about, and the way to the top of Mount Euclid.

If you look on a map, there is no such place as "Mount Euclid." Although I'm sure I didn't discover it, my dog and I count ourselves among the very few visitors to its summit. It is hard to reach. Mount Euclid is a sheer, vertical wall of shale rising straight up for about 100 to 150 feet above the Euclid Creek. You cannot reach it directly, as it would be an impossible face of rock to climb: too soft and too dangerous. Topside, it is bound by private property, so there is no way to drive up , walk around, and just wander on over.

Last fall, we found a way to the top. You have to start your ascent from the side of the monolith, maybe from a half a mile or so away. It is challenging terrain and the last 10 feet are extremely difficult. Those last few feet are really like modified climbing. I still cannot believe that my dog can make it up there, but somehow he can.

At the top, you are treated to a gorgeous clearing dotted with thin pines, lichen-type plants, wildflowers, soaring hawks you can practically reach out and touch, as well as a breathtaking view of the surrounding area. I felt so accomplished the first time I made it up there, that I took regular expeditions there, each time trying to find new ways to the summit. My dog accompanied me on every ascent, and handled each with aplomb.

Not wanting to over-stress my tendon or the dog's recently-healed joint, we merely stood at the base today, looking up at Mount Euclid. We both wanted to climb. My dog was looking up, then looking back at me, then looking up again, as if to say, "Ready, Mom? Ready to go up? Let's go up!" But this was our first challenging hike of the season. Prudence demands that we recondition ourselves...limber up a bit before we can do the more rigorous terrain. Even as we sadly turned back on the trail together, my dog found another derelict path...another possible way to the top. I've filed this in my memory for next time.

So, what does this have to do with food and cooking?

I took today's hike to strike some equilibrium with my caloric intake. We have a busy weekend of family celebrations and special treats that are hard to turn down, and harder still to sample in moderation. What a miraculous blessing that one wonderful pursuit (hiking) enables me to more fully experience another (cooking/eating).

And the ambitious feeling I had stirring in me today at the base of Mount Euclid tells me that I am going to continue doing both for as long as physically possible.