That Matter to Which I Am Bound

I can’t stop thinking about a specific passage in Thoreau’s The Maine Woods. It has lodged itself in my mind and seems to be preventing me from thinking about anything else. I have a sense I must address it — flesh it out— before it will loosen its grip on me. The passage in question is a fairly famous one, at least among Thoreau acolytes and scholars. The first essay in The Maine Woods, “Ktaadn,” recounts the first of three trips Thoreau made to Maine, and specifically his (attempted) ascent of Mount Katahdin. The weather was unfavorable, however, and the views he had hoped for were obscured by clouds and mist. His description of the ascent is, in my opinion, some of his most compelling writing. <a href="https://thetaoist.online/that-matter-to-which-i-am-bound-7a2520773c80">Read More</a>