Maya and Owen hiked the Presidential Traverse yesterday. They started their 19-mile hike at 3:30 am with headlights, saw the sunrise from atop Mount Madison, and bagged seven 4,000-foot summits. Completing the traverse in a single day is arguably the most difficult climb in New England, with over 8,000 feet of elevation gain.

Nicolai arrived in Quito, Ecuador in time to connect with his climbing team for their attempt to summit 19,347 ft Cotopaxi later this week. If successful, this will be his highest ascent, a whopping 6 feet higher than Kilimanjaro.

Kyle sent us greetings from Panama, where he decided to travel at the last minute. Perhaps the smartest of our children, he seems focused on enjoying the food, sights, and nightlife rather than subjecting his body to intense physical strain.

I ventured into my shop this morning and then completed an 11-foot ascent back to the first floor. On a less sarcastic note, I followed that arduous climb with 60 minutes of playing time in a soccer match against the defending division one champs in our age group. We beat them 2:0, which made my birthday all the more joyous. As if the day couldn’t get any better, our dentist gifted me several huge slabs of spalted beech wood from which I will eventually build a desk for Jeanine’s office.