On my desk sits a two-inch-high stack of paper: a photocopy of the second edition of Scenic Driving Colorado. I've spent the last couple months fact-checking the entire manuscript--making changes in public land management, revising acreages of state and national parklands, checking those oh-so-important address and phone numbers and websites that my readers rely on to find additioinal information.

Climbing reflects the dichotomy of human experience. It reflects Me versus Us/We; that dance of solitariness and togetherness that is part of every life and every relationship. On the one hand we each must climb alone. It is up to myself as a single individual person to use my hands and feet and experience and judgment to reach the top of a cliff, to reach safety. On the other hand, when I climb with a partner, with a friend, I am a member of a team. Two become one. I forge a partnership, a bond, with another person. We look out for each other. We keep each other safe. The rope between us is not only the physical link, an umbilical cord that connects us together, but it also symbolizes the common thread that connects us. It’s a slender thread that keeps us safe, that stops our falls, that safeguards our passage into an uncertain future.

It's Friday. Almost midday. I just tanked up with gasoline in the old truck and a few cups of coffee at La Baguette, a great French cafe in downtown Colorado Springs, with my elderly folks. Now getting ready to head south to Taos, New Mexico. Four and a half hours on the road, under a cloud-mottled sky that portends a cooler weekend. Sunday, don't forget, I'll be giving my photo program "The Climbers: Life on the Edge" at 11:30 AM at the Taos Center for the Arts.

The show is a collection of 75 photographs of climbers that I've made since 1971. Lots of great shots of famous and not-so-famous climbers, including Earl Wiggins, Jimmy Dunn, Ed Webster, Henry Barber, Eric Bjornstad, Bob D'Antonio, and John Gill...photographs of climbers as people, doing everyday normal things rather than heroic actions. A lot of the photographs will be appearing in my new book "On the Edge: The Climber's Life."

September 12 (Day 135)

I went to bed extremely early last night, because I was bored and because it got dark very early because of the rain. I was probably in bed by 6:30. It rained all night long as far as I could tell.

Because I went to bed so early, I was also up very early, but sat around until it was light enough to see. I got going on the trail and had some miles to make up because I had stopped walking early yesterday.

First, I went up and over Nesuntabunt Mountain, probably the last climb of any significance before Katahdin. After that, the trail winds around a few lakes.

September 9 (Day 132)

Somehow I have managed to stay in this bubble between the large groups of people ahead of me and those behind me. I had the shelter to myself again last night.

With not much else to do last night, I went to bed very early and so was up early this morning also.

Back on the trail, it continued very much as it had yesterday at the end. The path looks as though it must have been some old forest road at some point, though it certainly hasn't had any vehicles on it in decades at least. Some portions are well cleared, and some sections are still quite rocky and swampy.

September 7 (Day 130)

It was a pretty full house at the shelter last night. Lots of people showed up. There were five of us in the shelter, which was a little tight, but not terrible, and there were four others tenting.

I would have slept in a bit, but everyone in the shelter started moving around early, so I got up too. I took my time getting ready, but I was still the first one to leave camp.

Barren Mountain was just ahead of us, and it was steep climbing in places as usual. It was extremely humid and hazy today. I sweated like I did in New York, and the views were not very great from the top because of the haze.

September 4 (Day 127)

Last evening I walked up the road another mile from the hostel to a lodge, which had a restaurant. The food was definitely worth the walk, but I think I ate too much. I had already eaten quite a bit at the hostel, and then I had a bacon and Swiss cheeseburger with fries, a couple beers, and some sort of chocolate chip pie for dessert. I felt completely stuffed, and that feeling stayed with me through most of this morning. I need to get used to eating in moderation again.

I was the only one to stay at the hostel, so I had the bunkroom to myself. But, I know there were a few hikers staying up at the lodge.

September 2 (Day 125)

I slept very comfortably in my tent last night, and there was no one else who chose to stay at the same campsite.

It was chilly this morning, so I got moving quickly to warm up. There was a shelter just over 3 miles ahead and uphill. The climb was easier than I expected to the shelter, but after that, the climbing was harder than I expected.

The first peak was the South Horn, from which I could see my real destinations of Bigelow Mountain and Avery Peak. After walking down and back up, I got onto Bigelow, and the weather this morning was perfect. I could see forever in every direction. I knew that one of the mountains that I was looking at to the northeast was Katahdin, but I couldn't be sure which peak it was. Either way, it was my first glimpse of the finish line. I took a few pictures and then took a few more when I got over to Avery Peak.