You Did What?

Went for a hike! Yeah, really! In early March! Since its been a month since we last had snow, and we've had quite a bit of warm weather, things have dried out a lot. And with temps into the 60s, I decided to try something I generally NEVER do - go for a winter hike. It was a success, but with a few difficulties. I hit both of the places I hike the most during the summer/fall. Just to try them out.

The first place was great. Though the roads in were closed, the trails were quite good. In places, there was snow packed, drifted spots. But by and large the ground was mostly clear! Hiking here was really easy, much easier than I expected. I thought I might be impassible in spots - I was wrong!

What sort of creature is this? Kind of looks like the shadow of an alien or creature to me. But its really just water from melting snow running across a big slab of granite.

The sky - partly cloudy was nice. Though a lot of the day, it was totally overcast. With a mild breeze it felt a tad chilly when the sun wasn't out.

At the second place I went, it was the opposite. Only 10 or so miles away, but the snow was solid everywhere. In the winter this area has groomed trails for cross country skiing, snowshoeing, etc. But even in the trees off the trail, EVERYWHERE was packed solid with snow. How the terrain can be so different in such a short distance, I don't know.

This is normally the trail I hike into this area. Under that snow somewhere. The snow was pretty hard so I was able to walk on top of it. But just a little soft on the surface. I didn't hike here a lot, but the hike was very tiring very quickly. Must have been due to the semi-firm snow, my legs got real tired hiking on this snow where they didn't at all hiking the other area.

A log fence on my way out. You can just see the snow in the edge. It was clear to the right, and solid snow to the left. Where I was hiking. I was just glad to get out and take a break!