Monday Musing: UP

Less than eight months from now, UP will be available in bookstores nationwide.

People often ask why I wrote UP. Starting with our first (and unsuccessful) 4K attempt, I've kept a notebook of things I remember, a diary of sorts, of each hike with each one of my girls. Five months before Alex and I finished the New Hampshire 4000-Footers, Alex asked if I would write about our time together on the trails. She knew I liked to write, and she knew I'd kept a personal, bare-bones blog of our progress. She thought it would be fun to have a bound collection of our adventures.

I thought this was a good idea and happily began to oblige her. In April 2009, I took the notes I had and structured them into a formal narrative. By the time Alex and I finished all 48 4Ks, I had the first draft of half the book. Hugh suggested I send the material to an agent friend of his for feedback. I did so and received encouraging words and helpful advice for overall direction.

By early March 2010, what was then Alex and the 4000 Foot Classroom was finished, edited, polished, and ready for submission. My intention was to publish and sell the book locally. The New York publishing industry is competitive and inundated with submissions from unknown authors. I felt too old to suffer forty rejections before getting a yes, and since the goal was to simply have a bound book before me, I decided to forgo an agent and try my luck with a small press. I submitted to a handful of independent publishers and was accepted by my first choice.

Though Hugh was happy about my success, he strongly suggested I submit to a New York agent; he felt the writing and mother-daughter theme deserved national recognition. A colleague of his suggested Laurie Bernstein, a wonderful literary agent and former VP/Senior Editor of Simon & Schuster. I sent the material to Ms. Bernstein and was offered representation within a week.

After respectfully declining the offer of publication from the independent press, I began working with my newly-acquired agent. Last November, she landed me a deal with Broadway Books, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group.

The folks at Broadway Books/Crown are lovely people and they're very enthusiastic about my book; I'm enjoying every minute of this process and I'm thrilled that UP is in such good hands. I'll soon begin having conversations with my publicists; there's been a lot of early media interest in UP and the girls, and it will be interesting to see where all this leads.

In the meantime, we've mountains to hike -- we'd hike them book deal or no book deal, blog or no blog. Hiking has become a part of who we are; it's just what we do. Sage will probably finish the 4Ks this November and bump Alex out of the second-youngest-girl-to-finish spot. Alex may finish the winter list this season. We've highpoints to explore. Then there's life in general: homeschooling, playdates, city time, extracurricular classes, time spent hanging about at home. It's all good.

There is one thing of which I'm especially pleased regarding our hiking and UP. Though I started both the blog and my hiking notes as a means to record our adventures for myself and my immediate family, I'm glad everything has gone public in a not-so-little way. Not because I crave attention (I'm a very private person and our family places great value in humility), and not because I care about the approval of others (I have a low opinion of gossip-mongers). I'm glad because I get weekly emails from women or girls who are happy to see a public example of an adventurous mother-daughter(s) team. The "girl power" theme strongly resonates with a lot of people. If we've been a positive influence or a source of inspiration to even one young woman or girl, then I feel like we've done something good, something worthwhile.

Our family looks forward to the months ahead. As UP's launch date draws nearer, our lives will get more and more hectic. It's all good, it's all fun, and I'm grateful to those who have been unwavering sources of happy support.

Here's to life, to love, to family...and, of course, to the mountains.

Talk at the Highland Center: Saturday, August 13, 7:30pm

Hugh, the girls and I will be at the Highland Center this Saturday night talking about our adventures on the White Mountain trails. This talk is geared towards parents and children; it's a part of the AMC's Family Adventure Weekend. If you're in town, c'mon by!

The Friday Wrap: Sports Illustrated, Alex's Leg, Sage's Quest, and UP's Photos

Thought I'd post a quick summary of the week's events.

Hugh is in Sports Illustrated this week. Check it out.

Alex had a check-up x-ray on the leg she fractured in gymnastics last winter. It's growing well and all the hiking (100+ miles/15+ mountains) since her last x-ray hasn't negatively affected her healing process one bit. Dr. Hedequist of Children's Hospital Boston confirmed that weekly, steep, ten-mile-plus hikes will not negatively affect Alex or Sage's skeletal growth; there are "no limitations" as long as the girls are happy and comfortable.

Sage looks forward to this weekend's hiking adventure. We hope to knock another 4K or two off the list.

Book news: My editor, the wonderful Sydny Miner, has chosen the pictures she'd like to include in my forthcoming book, UP (Broadway Books, April 2012). I've uploaded these pictures to my Facebook Page ; you can find them in the photos section.

Have a great weekend, folks!

Thursday Review: The Boy Who Conquered Everest: The Jordan Romero Story

I have not had the pleasure of meeting the Romeros, though Alex and Sage do have a signed copy of this book. Hugh met Team Jordan at No Barriers 2011 this summer; Hugh is on the Board of Directors and Jordan gave a talk at the conference. I hope to also meet this remarkable young mountain climber one day; he is now highpointing the USA, so perhaps our paths will eventually cross. One can hope.

When Hugh brought home a signed copy of The Boy Who Conquered Everest, Alex and Sage were thrilled. They followed Jordan's record-breaking ascent last year and they admire both his chutzpah and his main message, that youth should not be in and of itself a deterring factor in the pursuit of one's goals. Alex read through the book in an hour, then she handed it to me so I could read it to Sage.

The book is full of pictures and is therefore visually striking on each and every page. There's a brief introduction of how the young Mr. Romero became interested in climbing the Seven Summits, along with a couple of notes on the importance of preparation. Next comes a short description of the individual climbs and the various challenges Jordan faced during each one. The book ends with the Everest ascent, then encourages kids to "find your own Everest."

The Boy Who Conquered Everest is an inspirational and engaging book for children, one with lots of pictures to capture the eye and imagination. I recommend this for young adventurers everywhere.

Wednesday Shout-Out: 48 in 30

August marks the beginning of Wednesday Shout-Out, my blog's weekly feature of other hiking, homeschooling, or "girl-power" related websites.

This week's website is Dan Szczesny's 48 in 30. I first met Dan on the summit of North Kinsman in March 2010; Alex and I had just ascended and he offered to take our picture. The next time we saw him, it was on Mt. Lafayette, just before he and his lovely bride Meena were about to be married on the summit. Since then, Dan and I have communicated on Facebook and I've become a fan of his blog, Expedition Kala Patthar: The Nepal Chronicles.

Dan's a good guy with a wonderful sense of adventure and a very generous heart. His next quest is to hike all 48 of New Hampshire's highest mountains in the 30 days of September...for charity. You can pledge a certain amount of dollars or cents per mountain; the money will go to Manchester’s Holy Cross Family Learning Center, a non-profit "whose volunteers teach ESL to immigrants and refugees trying to build a new life for themselves in New Hampshire."

Check out the website for details, and see if you can lend Dan and the Learning Center your support.

Congratulations, Sarah Perlmutter!

Sarah, who often hikes with her dog Hanna, won the signed copy of Smith and Dickerman's The 4000-Footers of the White Mountains. Congratulations, Sarah!

There'll be another giveaway soon. Stay tuned for details!

Kids and Happy Chaos on Moriah and the Carters. July 30-31, 2011.

Carter-Moriah Trail, Carter Dome Trail, 19 Mile Brook Trail. 15 mile traverse.

Something wonderful happened at the AMC Awards Ceremony last April -- a girl Alex's age received a certificate for hiking the 4000 Footers. At the end of the evening, I lept over a few people in order to meet the family before they left the building. Thankfully, I caught them before they even set foot in the aisle (my apologies to the folks I ran over). Amanda was the girl's name; she finished two weeks before turning seven. Randall was the hiking parent who accompanied her. Randall and I had a good conversation that evening which led to a Facebook friendship. We've been in contact ever since.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of joining Randall, Amanda, and her brother Gabriel on a hike over Moriah and the Carters. We met at the 19 Mile Brook Trail parking lot for a car spot; I parked my Honda and the girls, Max, and I piled into Randall's vehicle.



Randall and his clan wanted to ascend Mt. Moriah via the Rattle River Trail, since they're hiking the AT in sections and hadn't yet set foot on that stretch. They dropped the girls and I off at the Carter Moriah Trail and agreed to meet us at the summit.



The hike up was very, very difficult for me due to the weight of my pack. I was carrying for three, which is something I've never done before. Alex and Sage carried as much as I thought they should, but I still carried the bulk of supplies and all the overnight gear. At least the scenery was pretty...







The wild blueberries weren't so bad either...



Yum...





Once past Mt. Surprise, the trail became steep in parts. Ordinarily, such stretches don't bother me, but they certainly did this time around. I think I've found my limit in pack weight.



Hmm...perhaps the bog bridges should be replaced?



Up...



...and there!



Randall, Amanda, Gabriel, and Mr. Beefy (their English bulldog) were already there and had been waiting for a while. Unfortunately, I had taken approximately three days to ascend. That's what happens when you move like an overburdened snail.

Once up top, I dumped my pack and took pictures of the happy chaos.





Sage's 27th 4K!



After everyone was rested, fed, and watered, we moved on toward Imp Campground.









Kids, puppies, and views.





We arrived at Imp Campground around 2:30. Randall and his kids took the shelter while the girls and I took a tent platform.



View from the outlook near the shelter...





Our families then spent a couple of hours enjoying each other's company. The kids played games in the shelter while Randall and I talked. Max and Mr. Beefy expressed their affection for one another...



...until Mr. Beefy decided to take a nap.



Sunset at the Imp Shelter outlook...



We hiked out the next morning under a beautiful blue sky. Unfortunately, the puppies made it impossible for our group to hike together. Randall kept Mr. Beefy in front, but it did no good; Max continually whined and howled and complained about not being allowed to hang out with the Beef. I would have let him if the dogs would actually hike together. However, their puppiness worked against us; when close together, all they wanted to do was lick each other in the face. This behavior was cute at the campground, but it was decidedly inconvenient on the trail. The solution was for Randall, his kids, and Mr. Beefy to hike ten minutes ahead of us and wait at each summit.

Heading toward North Carter...





Steep section that gave me some trouble...



Views...



One of the following is North Carter's summit...









We caught up with the others at a nearby outlook and enjoyed the views...



...then we headed toward Middle Carter.

Close-up of Mt. Washington through the trees...






The Presidentials...



Middle Carter!




Sage's 28th 4K!



Heading toward South Carter. Again, Randall and his kids went ahead.



South Carter!



Sage's 29th 4K!




The kids playing at Zeta Pass...



Sage built a cairn thing...



The hike out was nice; Max finally calmed down enough for the kids to keep together.





This was a lovely hike in terms of company. Randall, Amanda, and Gabriel are good people and I hope we can spend some more time with them in the future. It was also nice to meet the many others we saw on the trail, including a nice fellow named Andy and a man who's finishing up his first round of the 4Ks. In terms of comfort, however, this hike was difficult. My pack was far too heavy, but I can't think of anything I should have left behind. The only solution is to wait until Alex is old enough to carry most of her own gear before taking both kids on another overnight which requires a tent and sleeping bags.

Hope everyone out there is enjoying the summer. Before you know it, it'll be fall (and we'll be out west at higher altitude).

Happy hiking, folks.