Odysseus' travels in Italy

In the Greek story the Odyssey, our hero Odysseus is trying to head home to Ithaca with his weary Argonauts who have just survived the Trojan war and encounters with the Cylops and the cannibals. They reach the island of Aeaea (a palindrome, the same when read backwards of forward) of the western coast of Italy. There they encounter Circe, a witch, who is angry at Odysseus for eating her father's cattle. Circe turns all of Odysseus' men into swine. Hermes helps the weary Odysseus and gives him a plant that makes him insusceptible to Circe's magic. But they remain on the island in Italy for one year before they can sail home.

This past weekend Steve, Brendan and his fellow scouts all climbed Circeo, the famed mountain where Odysseus and his men climbed before encountering Circe the witch.
Like the weary Argonauts they climbed all day to reach the top of the mountain. The trail was straight up over boulders and through densely packed trees. At times they were clawing themselves along the side of the mountain and balancing on ridges that dropped straight down.

The view at the top was incredible and the idea of hiking back down made them understand why Odysseus and his men remained a year.

But they knew they had to complete a ten mile hike for Brendan's hiking merit badge so they hoisted their packs and made their exhausting decent back down past castle ruins until they reached the forest below. Surprisingly no one complained or squealed like a pig on the way up or down. (OK, maybe just the scoutmaster when he tried to get out of bed the next day)

This "rock" they climbed is supposed to be the face of Circe herself. You can make out Circe's nose on the top of the rock from her side profile (below)

Brendan's adventures do not end here. He has two more 10 mile hikes (total of 5) And we will complete a 20 mile hike this summer, for Brendan's last requirement, with Heidi in Rocky Mountain National Park in CO. Strap on your hiking boots and come join us the weekend of July 18th!