When your daughter demands to purchase a dinky 5 dollar 3 foot tree (if only to carry it up a mountain for your Christmas Eve hike)…well…you buy the darned thing and make that magic happen. So we did. And we hiked Gorham Mountain in Acadia National Park. Again. Because she wanted to. Not gonna lie, I enjoyed that she picked a more rolling hill of a mountain where I could drink a cup of coffee from the summit back to my car. We wanted to make memories this year for Christmas. This is the stuff I cherish as a single mom…raising a child to love and appreciate (and prefer to be in) Nature in a technology-always-in-your-face culture isn’t easy. But we’re doing it. I’d like to say that I’m currently crushing it. And I’m also loving every single second of it.

So…Merry Christmas! Happy holidays! Welcome to our blog! Look—I did a thing and finally bought myself a domain name! This has been something that’s been brewing for a long time…and it’s one of the Christmas presents I chose to give to myself this year. I love to write. I love to hike. I love a lot of things…but most of all I love my daughter to Gallifrey and back (yes, we’re both diehard Doctor Who fans).

About that domain name…it’s a play on one of the peaks of our home state’s gorgeous, stunning, and undeniably unique massif…Mount Katahdin.

Pamola Peak stands at 4902’ above sea level and is the official start of the 1.1 mile Knife Edge portion toward Baxter Peak, otherwise known as the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Pamola is also the God of Thunder and protector of Katahdin.

The page title is a combination of Pamola’s peaks and Pamola speaks. But it’s also my way of paying tribute to our home and the first 4000 footer I ever hiked. You never forget your first 4000 footer. I stepped off that mountain the first time I hiked it and swore I’d never, ever, ever (ever!) hike it again. But then I realized that this one mountain alone had ignited something deep within my soul and I found that I had fallen in love with that rocky, bouldery terrain. Needless to say, I’ve been back each year since that very first time. I even brought my 11 year old with me to the summit this last October…and now she’s hooked.

The content of this blog will be a mix of everything…from beginner to intermediate to expert to what the heck was I thinking categories. I’m no expert. But I do take a lot of pictures and like to talk about/share the experiences of what I do. I’m working on a few fun bucket lists as I begin this new interwebbing journey…so I’m sure I’ll have a lot to talk about as I go along.

So sit back. Enjoy the show. Hopefully I’ll keep up with this and won’t disappoint!

Merriest of the Festivus and Happy New Year from our home to yours!!! Here’s to an exciting new journey for us all!