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What a great inaugural adventure. Five of us left Scarborough around 9:30 yesterday morning and headed off to western Maine to hike Burnt Meadow Mountain. The sun was out, and so was the wind. We were dressed in layers and moved along at a fair pace, so the wind and chilly temps didn’t bother us. The three dogs hiking with us were yipping and happy to be on the trail. We’re definitely deep into fall and moving along to winter. The leaves were off the trees and in some places they were piled as high as a good snow fall.

The hike up, steep in some places, took us just about an hour; maybe a few minutes more. We had a few stops looking out at the vista and one memorable stop when I had to chase down my errant pups. You don’t want to know what they found off of the trail.

At the summit we stopped for lunch and I suggested an hour to eat and enjoy our views of Pleasant Mountain and other peaks whose names I can’t remember now. After just 15 or so chilly minutes we were ready to kick back into gear, get the blood flowing and the body temps up. But not before we indulged in our summit surprise!

The hike down was longer and just as gorgeous. There’s something about being outside that centers me and connects me in ways that I don’t get in my daily, everyday life. And it’s nice to share that experience with like-minded women.

Happy adventuring,