One week in...

Today I hiked to the top of Mount LeConte with a couple of friends. After a week with 9-12 year old kids in residential summer camp, a 15 mile hike felt fabulous. It felt great, and I am definitely going to sleep well tonight. There were a couple incidences of uncontrollable laughter on our hike because of exhaustion from our week. That too felt great. Walking through tunnels of rhododendron and mountain laurel made me reflect on how fortunate i am to be back in this Appalachian jungle. I have the opportunity to learn a lot this summer and challenge myself in new ways. For instance, I think I am finally going to invest in a nice road bike. The bike trails around are great and it will be a great place to improve my comfort level on a bicycle before shipping it to California. I have also been seeing some fun music lately--Robinella in Knoxville--maybe Tim O'Brien this Friday--so much great bluegrass and talent close by. This weekend I am going to go to Asheville to visit Butters, a friend from my WFR course last spring. That should be wonderful too. So great things to report from Tennessee. Hope everyone had a super Father's Day!