what we have here is a failure to communicate

My most recent hiking adventure took place last Saturday, when a friend and I went exploring on Great Hill, which overlooks Bar Harbor at the Eagle Lake Rd. entrance to the Park. We waded through a couple feet of snow, following the tracks of snowshoers, deer, and rabbits that crisscrossed the hill. We discovered the path of what could only have been a snowboard, swooshing down lovely, otherwise untouched, expanses of new snow. We checked out some views of the surrounding mountains and Frenchman’s Bay that I’ve never seen before. Excellent times.

Extremely ice conditions following a quick thaw and then temperatures swiftly plunging back down to the low teens kept me inside over my weekend (Sun. & Mon.), but provided me with the opportunity to catch up on some Netflix’s and get another book read.

I discovered, while volunteering at the library on Friday, a new book by Shannon Hale. Super exciting!! While this was no Goose Girl, or Princess Academy, I still found myself delighted. Rapunzel’s Revenge, co-authored by Shannon’s husband Dean, was a comic book – or perhaps the term “graphic novel” is more appropriate. The illustrations were done by Nathan Hale (apparently no relation). In this retelling and continued adventures of Rapunzel, the long-haired girl uses her braids as lasso’s and hooks up with Jack (of the magic beanstalk and golden goose). They set out to right the wrongs the witch Gothel has carried out upon a wild west-like landscape.

The story didn’t blow me away, being a bit simplistic and predictable, and lacking the gorgeous writing style that Shannon Hale usually displays. I had to get over that a bit, and then I got caught up in the vibrant and fun illustrations, and found myself totally rooting for Rapunzel and Jack. There’s a sequel in the works, and while I hope Shannon Hale will soon write another novel, I will be eagerly awaiting anything she (and her husband) care to create.

The DVD that I finally got around to watching was Fishing With John, a bizarre TV show made by John Lurie, an actor and musician who knows very little about fishing, but has some interesting friends. In each of the 6 episodes he takes a friend – be it Tom Waits, or William Dafoe, or Dennis Hopper – on a fishing trip to such places as Costa Rica, Jamaica, Thailand, and Maine. Nothing really happens on these trips – fish are caught only occasionally. The conversations are semi interesting. The soundtrack is strange and the filming isn’t impressive.

It was the episode where Lurie and William Dafoe travel to Maine to ice fish in 20 below zero weather that I liked the most. After researching the show a little, my hunch that the episodes were a bit staged was proved true – which only made the story of the epic 11+ day fishing trip, where the cheese crackers ran out and the men grew increasingly delusional and hungry while battling the harsh Maine elements, eventually starving to death according to the ironic-voiced narrator, that much better.

In fact it inspired me to go on a winter camping trip next weekend! And meanwhile, I now have crampons to strap to my boots, so icy conditions will no longer keep me from climbing mountains, (nor getting to work on time!)