Cannon Mountain NH

The first time I summited Cannon was in June of 1995 on my first Icebreaker Hike with Wilderness staff from Camp Calumet. The day was perfect and the view beckoned us across the valley for a 2nd day on the Lafayette Range, in lieu of our original plan to hike the Kinsmans.

We were lead by D-Guy (Don) Johnson, the executive director of the camp, who loved the outdoor experience, but was so busy in his guidance of the camp that he seldom had the opportunity to enjoy it himself. He made sure that the Icebreaker was that opportunity each year. D-Guy also loved the food and the bunks at the AMC Huts, so we lived in relative comfort in spite of the rigor of the hike. Joining Don and I were a diverse group of counselors: David Hall from New Zealand, Lara Coleman of South Africa and Skip Slocum from Michigan.

We arrived at the Lonesome Lake Hut in the middle of the afternoon and quickly decided the 1.7 mile hike to Cannon and back would be short enough for us to get back for dinner. Hiking the Lonesome Lake Trail to its junction with the Kinsman Ridge Trail in the col between Cannon and the Cannonballs went easily but the scramble up Cannon was another story. By the time we reached the Rim Trail and the view east our legs were screaming for oxygen. The distress dissolved once we took in the broad vista facing us. It's no wonder the Old Man choose that face of the mountain to reside.

The next day was re-routed down through the Notch, up Falling Waters Trail, over Lincoln and Lafayette and down to Greenleaf Hut for our second night's stay.

In addition to some awesome weather and great hiking, we enjoyed D-Guy's late night reading of "the Cremation of Sam MacGee" and endured the overnight snoring of a certain member of group. (Dave moved to a vacant bunkroom and thus was above suspicion.) Sharing our wilderness and devotional stories established a camaraderie that continued unabated through the summer, ending only with tearful good-byes.

This past weekend I returned to Lonesome Lake Hut with Beth and her brother, Charlie, his bride of 6 months, Luz Maria, and her thirteen-year-old son Ignatio (Nacho for short), who were visiting from Chile. After a night at the hut we split in two groups, with Beth, Charlie and Luz Maria heading back down to the Notch, and Nacho and I retracing my ascent of 13 years ago. Again, I was lulled by the ease of the Lonesome Lake Trail and then struggled up the formidable scramble of Cannon's southwest shoulder. Nacho speaks little English and I don't go much beyond 'hola' in Spanish, so our stops for 'photos' at each trail junction gave us a level of communication and served to break up the climb.

We met Beth, Charlie and Luz Maria at the summit tram terminal and escorted them around the Rim Trail to much the same view as I'd first seen 13 years ago. It was quite a coincidence to again have two people with me in this spot, who were born in the Southern Hemisphere.

This ascent of Cannon varied in two significant ways though--we took the tram down and saved our knees for another day, and the Old Man was no longer there, having fallen to the valley a number of years ago. As Tom Rush says, "it's strange to have outlived a geological formation."

Charlie, Luz Maria and Nacho are heading back to Chile and in parting last night, Nacho said: "we climb mountain again!" Anytime, Nacho.

My New Bike

Back when I was in college, my father gave me his brown metallic Raleigh SuperCourse road bike. He bought it to ride across Canada and I think he used it for that purpose at least once before a knowledgeable bike mechanic pointed out that it really didn't fit his 6'4" frame. He bought a new red Raleigh and gave me the old one, perfect for me at 5'9". Over the years I used it sparingly and fixed it up on more than one occasion. Finally, the cost to repair and replace wornout parts exceeded the original cost of the bike and after 35+ years of use I hung it up for good.

I celebrated the end of this year's Tour de France by purchasing a Trek 1.2 Road Bike and in spite of the rainy stretch of weather we've been having, I've been out for three good rides and must say I enjoy the new acquisition quite some and no little (as Damon Runyan used to say). It's a nice, white model with all the modern conveniences but I'm not into the technical aspects enough to spout all that. Getting out for a ride of 40 minutes to an hour at this point has been alot of fun. Hopefully the weather will clear sometime soon and I'll try some extended rides and maybe try out for the Dirigo High School staff team for next June's Trek Across Maine.

Coincidentally, I received a news clipping from New Zealand from the mom of one of my favorite students. Aaron Barclay is his name and at 16 he's become known nationally for his triathlon and cycling results. While he's hasn't had time to develope fully for the Beijing Olympics which start this week, I'll be watching for him to compete in London in 4 years. He's one of the more determined student-athletes I've known in my 13 years of teaching and I won't be the least surprised to see him represent New Zealand on the world scene. For his two national age-group championships, as they say in NZ, Good on ya, Aaron!

Happy Anniversary!

While we were in New York City last week, I received word from my distant cousin* Rennie that Sunday, June 22, 2008 was to be a big day for the couple pictured above. Rennie's parents, Jack and Helen Bremner were married on June 22, 1943 and last weekend celebrated their 65th Wedding Anniversary! Rennie noted that they were married on Jack's final leave before he went overseas to war. Last week, the family arranged anniversary messages on the local radio stations and had How Great Thou Art dedicated to them on one.

*Rennie, Graeme and Trevor are distant cousins in more ways than one. By my calculation, we're 5th cousins, as my great-great grandfather Johann Karl Ludwig Maddaus was the brother of their great-great-grandmother Johanne Christiana Maddaus Winterhoff. Johann and Johanne were born in Hamburg, Germany but their progeny is spread across the globe. Johann moved to Riga, Latvia in the mid 19th century and his son Oscar W. Maddaus eventually settled in Brooklyn, NY, USA where he raised 6 children, including my grandfather Ingo Maddaus, Sr. Johanne's daughter Adolphine Dorothea Caroline Winterhoff migrated to Peru in South America where she married Robert Reid. Jack's parents Christina Adolphina Reid and George W. Bremner started their family in Peru but moved to New Zealand shortly before Jack was born. (If you're following this you're doing well!) Jack and Helen live outside of Dunedin, New Zealand---my distant cousins are 9,500 miles (over 15,000 kilometers) distant. (An additional note: Trevor lived in Anchorage, Alaska the last I knew.)

During my 5-month teaching assignment in New Zealand two years ago, I had the opportunity to see Jack, Helen, Rennie and Graeme and his family, relatives I didn't know I had until shortly before leaving America. We were connected by their first cousin Eileen Reid Marcil, who lives outside of Quebec City and managed to track down a variety of Maddaus ancestors through the wonders of the internet. My last weekend in New Zealand, we had a gathering at Graeme's house and found we shared a love of music and it was a grand time!

So, even though I'm four days late (It's tomorrow in New Zealand), I wish Jack and Helen a Very Happy Anniversary and many more! And thanks for treating me to that Southern Cross hospitality.

NZ Gold Guitars 2006

"When I Am King"

Gold Guitars

One of the benefits of living in Gore, New Zealand was participating the Gold Guitars Awards competition. Two years ago this weekend, I took the stage as one of scores of country music entertainers from all over New Zealand who sought the bright lights and stardom in the country's biggest country music event. In addition to a number of age group and genre categories, the Queen's Birthday tradition in Gore includes busking, songwriting awards, best song and album competitions and a variety of workshops. See: http://www.goldguitars.co.nz/

I competed in two categories, Open and Senior (old folk like me). My years experience playing with Tequila Sunrise really gave me an advantage, but unfortunately I didn't advance to the finals. Maybe it was the bad joke about Prince Charles, or the fact that I was one of the only entrants to perform solo (most provided charts for the house band to provide backup), or that neither of the songs was a country standard (one was an original composition, the other a tune by Newfoundland's outstanding Great Big Sea), and/or that I was American???? (Not!) I'll have to work on my act for my next visit.

This year's winners are a vocal trio from Gore called E-Liza. I heard two of the group, Gore High School students Lana Mackay and Taylor Cairns, sing on numerous occasions two years ago and have no doubt of their talent. Word is that they'll be recording in Sydney, Australia before long. I'll be looking forward to hearing more from them!

Wellington New Zealand

Every parent should take their child to college at the beginning of their Freshman year, right? That's what I thought when Jacob suggested it back in the fall of 2005, although I really didn't have the extra funds for an extra roundtrip ticket to NEW ZEALAND! Little did I know that I would be buying a second ticket a couple months later.

For more on that see: http://cmaddaus.edublogs.org/2008/05/28/teach-nz/

Jacob was somewhat of a home-body in high school, athletic, a relatively good student, but not especially social. I always joked that I couldn't 'ground him' because he never went out much anyway. Figures he'd go as far away as possible for college.

Actually though, I think that it took a lot of courage on his part to decide to go to New Zealand as an 18-year-old and he made the best of it, too.

He attended Victoria University in Wellington, on the south end of the North Island. On our arrival we were met by my friend David Hall, who had worked with me in the Wilderness Program at Camp Calument. Dave took us to meet his family and we stayed at his home in Levin for a night before Jake's orientation started. Having Dave there really increased Jacob's comfort level at being half-way around the world from home... and mine, too.

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and is built on the hills surrounding Wellington Harbor and the Miramar Peninsula. The parliament is located there in a unique building called the Beehive (the Prime Minister is Helen Clark, who is everything Hillary Clinton wants to be) and Peter Jackson based his "Lord of the Rings" production in the city. The views from Mt. Victoria are stunning.

VIC was a great choice in a lot of ways for Jacob. He got involved in a Ultimate Club and played a number of tournaments, including the all-University Games in which his team was a disappointing 3rd. He also worked for an event promoter on a part-time basis and saw a number of concerts. Best of all, he developed an interest in Political Science and International Relations that has led to him excelling upon his transfer to Northeastern University in Boston. His credits transferred to more than we expected, attesting to the rigor of the program and he hopes to work with one of his professors there, again some day. And he was quick to jump at the chance to go overseas again--he's scheduled to study in Dublin and work in the Irish parliament next fall.

It was tough leaving him in Wellington that first time, but I was able to return and spend some time with him the following April and enjoy the city myself.