We got hit with our biggest snowfall of the winter on Tuesday night and Wednesday. For us it wasn't really big at only 8" and certainly nothing compared to what other parts of the country had been getting. But it was kind of nice to get some snow back on the ground.
I'm glad the snow waited until after our race last weekend although we would have been able to keep a clear course on the school property. Bald Mountain would have been terrible for riding since it really hasn't gotten warm enough to pack down, even with the snowmobile traffic.
Wednesday I snowshoed up at the school, following a lot of the trails. No one else had been out so everything was undisturbed except for the animal tracks. Thursday I went back up and spent a couple of hours XC skiing on the trails and into Bald Mountain. Again, in many spots I was the first person to lay down any tracks.
Friday night several people were supposed to get together and snowshoe at the school after dark. I stopped by a local outdoor supply shop to pick up a new headlamp. Previously whenever I wanted to go out night hiking or skiing the only light I had was the one I use when riding. It is a little overkill for slower speeds sine it is a super bright HID and has a heavy battery that had to be carried in a pocket or pack. The light is mounted to a helmet so I have to wear that when hiking. It is bright though. The new light is self contained and uses LED's, still very bright for normal hiking or skiing.
Unfortunately everyone backed out of the hike for various reasons but I decided to go anyway. I'm glad I did. There is something magical about the trails at night, especially in the snow. Maybe we will try to get together again this week.
Yesterday I went out early for a few hours on the SS on the back roads. Most of the roads were clear, or at least plowed but they still had packed snow and ice. Then later in the day I went over to Stony to XC ski. They had just groomed the trails and were a lot better than when Sandy and I were there a few weeks ago. I ran into Bernie and we skied around the park together.
This morning I was out on the bike for a few hours again and picked some different roads to ride. Some of them were not as clear as others, in fact it made me wonder if they had been plowed or just partially cleared from the traffic. Sandy and I are going out on the trails to hike in a little bit. I need to go back to work tomorrow just to get some rest.
1 comment:
Do you remember going hiking that first winter in NH at night when all we had were the old kerosene lanterns and we (Trish and I) were so new to the area we had no idea where we were going?? That was a fun hike in the snow and woods, sliding down a hill with the lanterns and then coming back to the house for something hot. (Big Brother)
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