Snow Hike

Husband picked me up after work and we finally got to hit the trail for a snow hike. We went to White Park and walked around the reservoir. What would in fair weather be just a leisurely stroll, was in six inches of snow quite a nice workout! If you've never trundled around White Park, you should! Even in snow the paths were easy to follow, although they don't do any kind of snow removal inside the park. The parking lot by the ice rink was plowed though, so there's a nice place to leave your car.

We walked down to the water's edge, and it was frozen pretty solid (it's been below freezing here consistently for about a week). We weren't feeling like daredevils really, we only walked out a few feet and then not over water deeper than our knees. Some braver soul left a trail of footprints out onto the ice, but we did not follow.

The hillside across the lake was covered with cascades of icicles in shades of blue and white. It was quite magnificent. I don't think any photo I might have taken could do it justice. Keith said that maybe not having a camera made it even more beautiful. I don't know about that, but I do know I like to take off on a nice trek and not always worry about the pictures. So that's exactly what we did.

The farther we walked, the less traveled the path, till we were walking along the gas right-of-way and there were no discernible tracks but ours and a few deer trails. It took about 45 minutes to make the circuit, but it didn't feel like that long at all. Once we stopped gawking at the awesome beauty of the frozen reservoir and started moving, we warmed right up. It snowed off and on during our hike, the wind across the water making it blow almost horizontally. But then among a stand of oak trees who still had their red and orange-brown leaves, the fluffy stuff drifted down so peacefully. Just standing there looking at it made me cry, but in a good way. We'd been too long indoors, and this little walk was a gift, a great reminder of how to breathe, how to see things again.

Have you caught a snowflake on your tongue? It's been snowing for a week straight. Have you thrown a snowball or slid down a hill on a sled? There is plenty of winter out there, and so many ways to enjoy it.