Look What's Coming "Soon".

10-1-17 "Well the best laid plans of mice and man often go awry" couldn't be truer for this lad who is still spending a lot of time at the Physical Therapy shop but now working on my knees (the Rotary Cuff is up and running beautifully), my left knee in particular and trying to get it to work comfortably without the need of a brace of any kind. I'm getting there although it is a bit of time; more than I first thought. The fact is that I have worked up the tendons, muscles etc in my left knee (my worst of the two) and it is now equal to the right knee so I am close to my goal. Advanced Therapeutics in Hatfield, MA., just north of Northampton. Robert Myers and Lindsey Anderson have been my "crew" for the past three months and have done wonders. I'm passing this along to bestow hope for those of you avid hikers who have arthritis and other joint problem even, like me, well into your 70s.  I've done a few hikes in the past month and will start building up my "core" this month with some more demanding hikes. Berg Heil.

7-12-17. Aaargh! I'm still being held up by the Rotary Cuff ordeal but at about 95% recovery and hardly any pain. And I'm still working on the piece about botanist Edward Tuckerman of Tuckerman Ravine fame (on Mt. Washington) who lived 6 miles from my home here in Northampton, MA). As mentioned before I have access to his letters and diary here in the Amherst College library which I have access to. Their are a number of threads that make the story interesting. Thanks for being patient.

Scoping out the library I found Nathaniel Goodrich's personal copy (bequeathed with his entire collection of books to Amherst College) of "From the Himalaya to Skye" by Norman Collie, the famous Scottish climber, even if you're not a fan of Collie's the book is out in a brand new printing and covers an enormous amount of history. It starts with the death of Mummery on Nanga Parbat and provides his own records of Canadian Rocky climbs. All proceeds from the new printing are going to the Muir Trust in Scotland.

Also, while I've been recovering I've done quite a lot of reading and recommend one book in particular for any of you science minded folks titled: "Lab Girl" by Hope Jahren that has been on the Best Seller list for a few months. A lot of "new" science is explored particularly about the physiology of trees (plants in general), some things about continental glacial mechanics, and the rigors of being both a female and scientist.

I'll be back soon enough.


All Best, Alex MacPhail (macphail.alexander@gmail.com)