I stopped into Eastern Mountain Sports in Portland last night just to buy a few odds and ends for my upcoming hike in the Andirondacks. Freeze-dried food, gas canisters for the stove and the like.

But before I could even make it that far into the store the book racks drew my attention. And a new guidebook jumped right off the shelf into my hands. And from there, well, the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail Guide went right into my basket.

The guide features an interesting 50-mile hiking route from Mount Monadnock north to Mount Sunapee through the 2,000-foot hills of the Monadnock Highlands in southwestern New Hampshire.

I'd heard of the trail. And now I need to go hike it. All because I couldn't exercise enough self-restraint to pass by the EMS book racks.

Dammit.

It's happening more and more these days. And I must admit that I'm worried.

Isn't the first step in any 12-step program that of admitting you have a problem?

OK my friends. I have a problem. A hiking problem.

I see a trail and I want to hike it. I see a map and I want to hike all of its trails. I see a guidebook and I'm over the top.

The trip list grows. And grows. There's no end in sight. I want to hike everything. In Maine. New England. The world.

It's hopeless.

Help me. Because it's going to happen again and again.

Somebody please help me...