The weather says that we’re going to have rain on and off for the next few days. I don’t like to hike over wet boulders, so we decided to take a hike up Gorham Mountain. It’s a good upward climb, but one that we haven’t done since our earlier days here. It’s considered moderately challenging. After doing Connors Nubble yesterday, we felt like this would be a piece of cake! OK, more or less…
We started in mid-afternoon. I was dilly dallying all morning and, as we started the hike, was in a fairly unpleasant mood. I’m not sure why, but it’s likely because it was hot – 85°. It’s Maine, it’s September…we should have 60° hiking weather.
We were barely on the trail for twenty minutes when I noticed I was sweating into my Tilley hat and the sweat was trickling down my face. In addition, the park people have been changing the names of the paths (back to the original names) and they don’t match the book we have (A Walk in the Park @2000). So, because we were following the book, we took a wrong path. When we ended up on Park Loop Road, we had to turn around, go back and start over. It added to my annoyance!
When we go on the actual path, I plugged in earbuds so I could listen to my success playlist. I didn’t want to interfere with the nature sounds, but I also needed a boost, so I tucked the buds into my hat and turned up the volume. I was able to hear the music as soft upbeat background, which put me in a better mood and I felt more energetic.
About half-way up the mountain, I started seeing ocean views and there was a breeze. The elevation got my heart pumping. I don’t know if there is anything as good as exercise to dispel a foul mood…mine gradually dissipated through each set of boulders I climbed.
Then Joseph and I got to the top. The views at the top were worth the climb. I was looking down at treetops on one side and the ocean on the other. The hillside houses looked like they were part of a model train display. In fact, from that elevation, everything looked like it could have been part of a toy display at Christmas.
We stayed on the mountain long enough to get our fill of the aesthetic as well as eat a couple cheese sticks and drink some water. The hike down wasn’t too bad and I’m glad I had my hiking stick with me.
