The Real Story About Why the Bear Went Over the Mountain

Welcome everyone to summer, and welcome especially to new subscribers of the Mickey Picayune.

My wife and I were in New Hampshire last week for a production of A Chorus Line to see our daughter perform, and also to see what we could see. Chorus Line ages well, and is both fun and heartbreaking.

Here’s what else the bear saw…

There’s a mountain near where we stayed called Mt. Major, and it’s a one-and-a-half mile hike to the top. I’m not super-into hiking or mountain climbing, so I wasn’t that excited. But my wife enjoys these random adventures and off we went.

The first half of the hike was mildly challenging given our age (we’re over fifty) and the temperature (over ninety). I sweat year round, so my shirt was soaked. But my boxer-briefs were wet for all the wrong reasons.

The second half of the ascent cranked up the challenge with a steeper incline and boulders. Lots of big, granite boulders. I think Maine is the granite state but New Hampshire must be a close second. As we struggled for footholds, I recalled that the sign at the trailhead mentioned “scrambling over boulders.”

We hadn’t planned for this, so we were wearing sneakers rather than hiking boots. Luckily, I grabbed one of those half-assed shoulder packs and tossed bottles of water in it. Boulders be damned, we felt pretty good about getting to the top.

And then…

Then the wind kicked in, the sky darkened, and thunder claps approached quickly. From a clearing, we saw a line of heavy rain approaching. There was no way for us to retreat before the storm hit. We took refuge under a scraggly pine, wondering if avoiding a few drops of rain was worth the risk of lightning strike.

The rain passed quickly however. As we peaked out from behind the tree, two young people (twenties?) hiked passed us. “Don’t worry,” one of them said. “I’m taller than you so I’ll be the one who gets hit by lightning.”

Up the Stony Path

We continued to scramble up and over the boulders. By my estimate, the last 600 feet of elevation was all boulders.

The View From On Top of the World

By the time we summitted (I think that’s how you say it) the skies were clear and we had a view of Lake Winnipesaukee and all of its weird appendages, bays and tributaries. Kind of worth it.

But Then…

We had to climb back down the mountain on tired legs. Obviously, we made it, but I totally would have taken an Uber rather than stumbling down the goddam rocks.

Maybe You’d Like

I’m sharing a colleague’s book in an act of mutual benefit hoping you’ll take an interest and enjoy his writing. It’s The Coroner and the Body in the Bath by Paul Austin. Like me, he’s confident you’ll enjoy this free book so much that you’ll end up reading his other books, as well. Click here to check it out.

Meanwhile, at My Writing Desk…

I’ve been busy making final touches to HIVE, my soon-to-be-published science fiction novel. Publishing a book demands lots of attention to detail and, because I have a day job, there are precious few minutes available to me in the evening. So things get dragged out a bit.

HIVE is coming soon, and I’m anxious to see how folks react to it. I’m even going to create an audiobook of the story, so that’ll be interesting on its own.

Upcoming Books and Stuff

I’ll be sending out the Picayune more often over the coming months, and working hard to make it worth the read while offering deals for more books and stuff.

Thanks for reading the Mickey Picayune…

All the best,

–mickey

P.S. The real reason this bear went over the mountain is because his wife told him to do it.