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Been a few days since the last update.
Still doing my thing, and really loving it.
Nicole came up this past weekend. Great times.

Spent last night on Mars Hill Mountain.
I biked via the railroad bed and arrived at the base of the mountain around 8pm.
Powerhiking with my pack and pushing my bike up the mountain(sweating my ass off), I arrived at the last level before the final grunt up to the summit.
As I stood there listening to the gigantic windmills, it was impossible to ignore that one of them emitted a really annoying high-pitched squeak. I opted to go down the mountain a little bit and set up camp, just out of range of the noise.

It was cool to wake up to the view...but more awesome was the ride back to Presque Isle on the snowmobile trail, as the sun was coming up. It was the perfect time for wildlife viewing.

I had a deer jump out into the trail a little ways ahead of me. Also seen were a bunch of rabbits, snakes sunning themselves in the trail, and a falcon that flew just ahead of me for a hundred meters at a time. It would stop on a tree adjacent to the trail, seemingly waiting for me, and then fly further down the trail once I got close to it again. We played this cat and mouse game for about a half mile.
Some bear sign was present. With the amount of running, hiking, and biking I do, I know that it's only a matter of time before I have a close encounter.

Mars Hill. That's Peak 1 in my End of July Peak Assault.
I have 12 more days to get at least 11-15 Peaks. My goal is 20...but that is going to be a real challenge with all the work and whatnot. I'll have to be VERY productive on my days off, I guess.