My July summary is coming a bit later, but as you’ll see in a moment, it had a good reason. It’s definitely been an interesting month.

July took an unexpected turn before it even started. By the time I was on the last hike in June, I was informed that one of the hikers who signed up for the week-long trip at the end of the month was out. Given that the list for this trip was being put together in September last year – when I was preparing for my October journey to North Carolina, I decided to pass on the offer. In January, I signed myself up as available to be a backup (with vacation scheduled at work), but as no one was out, I put it out of my mind and, by the end of June, I was planning how to spend that week on my own schedule.

Where would that trip be, you might ask? A place I admit I wanted to see one day – the Dolomites. So, after a short consideration and confirming the vacation at work, I confirmed my attendance. But that’s the end of the month, so let’s tackle first things first.

The first weekend, I went for another hike, this time with a different group, to the same location as the last hike of June, though I took a trail in a different direction, to a different peak. This one was a sharp ascent, and I considered it a final trial for the Dolomites trip. Compared to the previous weekend, the weather (and views) were much better.

Meanwhile, I also decided to re-read a book I’ve read some seven years ago, as I noticed that the author returned to the story to release another book. This was quite a thick tome, so reading it took me over two weeks, and I bought the follow-up (a prequel, in fact) before departure on my Dolomites trip, but I didn’t get a chance to read there, so I’ll start it this month.

The second weekend turned out to be a break from hiking as the weather was a bit unpredictable, and I decided to use it on reading, seeing my family, and relaxing in other ways.

The third weekend, I took my sister on an easier hike, to a place I’ve visited on my own before and that I believed she’d like seeing, which she did. For me, after the previous two hikes, it was an easy and relaxing loop, though my sister is a bit out of practice, so it was at a slower pace.

In the following days, I managed to get some minor writing done – mostly minor edits, but they led me to some further ideas I managed to note down before my departure. Some of these came to my mind as I was preparing a file for some targeted partial feedback with one of my betas, which made that useful before I even had anything back – that felt good.

The trip to the Dolomites seemed, at first, to be bound for bad luck – we departed in strong rain that persisted for most of the 12-hour bus trip, but ceased a while before we reached Italy. And, despite the not-so-pleasant forecast, we managed to have a great time and I pushed my limits a bit – but that will get a separate post.

Because I returned home just a couple of hours ago, I’ll add just one quick teaser photo, as the pile will need some time to get sorted out.

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So, that’s what I was up to in July. I hope yours was good, and the second half of summer will be a good time for you.