on days like this...

...when making progress on the dissertation feels like climbing a mountain, I remember the time my friend Katie and I

bushwhacked our way up the back side of a mountain.

It was difficult and hot and full of branches. Sometimes the dirt slid away under our feet. Oddly, it got easier the higher we went.

We were exhausted, thirsty, and aromatic when we got to the top. But the view

was amazing.

And the way down the other side was more clear and much more quick.

Best of all, Lake Baikal was waiting for us at the bottom.

These pictures and more over here.