SUMMER STORM

Adverse weather can hit in the wilderness at any time of the year. A few years ago we encountered a snow storm on our way to the summit of Mount Townsend on Fourth of July weekend. People who we met on the trail coming down from the summit described "blizzard conditions" on top. One veteran backpacker told me that he'll hike in rain or snow, but he won't hike in a windstorm. So it was with Mrs. Trowbridge and Woodrow one summer night...

THE FORGOTTEN SKETCHBOOK

Some have asked if Mrs. Trowbridge had any humorous inclinations. That was definitely Woodrow's department. Woodrow, as you may know, was Mrs. T's husband. She once referred to him as "a purveyor of the pun and punchline". So gifted was Woodrow as a humorist that he was the designated master of ceremonies at most of the village functions. His "Why did the snail cross the trail?" jokes evoked snickers throughout the rain forest.

Mrs. T. devoted a number of pages in her journal to an old sketchbook that was buried in the clutter of her parlor. She writes...