TUCK

Call it mizzle or fog or cloud–it’s what
I’m hiking in to celebrate the day.
In fifty feet the firs and alders fade
To wraiths and disappear. The droplets blot

My glasses. Rocks are slick. The grade persists.
The gurgling brook descants a melody.
No mountain views, and rains predicted–to me
Alone the trail belongs. I love the mists,

The solitude and no embarrassment
To chant and pray. I strain to move above
The headwall lip. The cloud turns bright, removes
Its cloak, and melts. The summit cone ascends

In sun-struck grandeur. Only Adams greets
Afar from a fumbled ocean of billowing fleece.

(127, September 7, 1993)

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Comments

I think this refers to Tuckerman Ravine. He was the proud member of the 4000 footer club having climbed all 48 peaks in New Hampshire and Maine. He was prouder to have accomplished this again in Winter. Adams is the name of the second tallest mountain.

I asked him once how he documented the achievement. He said you wrote a description of the top of each mountain and what you could see in the distance. One of the mountains was entirely covered in trees and there was no distant view.

[John Alvord, 1/4/2026]