After my first year in New Hampshire I traveled
back to California to cross the Sierra mountains by backpack with
some old friends. 10 of us carried all supplies for a 10 day treck.
My pack wieghed about 50 pounds. I considered bringing my fiddle
but choose my grandfathers old mandolin
and a pennywhistle because of their lightness. I put it in a cloth
sack and attached it to the outside of my pack. One night, while
camping in an isolated mountain pass over 11,000 feet high, we
had an impromptu contra dance.
The picture above on the right was taken on the day we hiked back
down out of the mountains and took a well deserved rest on a boat
ride back to where our cars were parked. As usual, as the other
hikers were gazing serenely at the beautiful scenery, I felt the
urge to make music. Earlier in the trip I played an Irish tune
on my pennywhistle while standing on a huge sequoia log.