The upside of hiking a steep mountain trail on a bitter cold day - no bugs and you don’t overheat.
I put on my extra heavy winter layers and grabbed my mittens with the leather palms. I think of them as surrogate paws. They’re perfect for climbing on all fours when the footing is precarious. The winds died down today.
I took an unusually steep trail. This was a good day for seeing animals. I watched a flock of wild turkeys fly over the icy parts of the trail I had to climb. Later in the day, a small herd of deer picked their way through deep woods.
Every time I stopped to make a note, several inches of snow adhered to the soles of my hiking boots - walking on that, I felt like Frankenstein meets Sasquatch.
I’m really proud of my balaclava liner - an absorbent paper towel, which I can easily change before the dampness from my warm breath and the icy air forms a rain cloud under my nose. A tissue would be softer, but I’d end up with a nose full of lint. Not an option.
I did remember to put business cards in my pocket. They fell out when I opened my notebook. WriterByNature.com- who IS that?
If I hike enough miles, I’m bound to find out.
I’m amazed at how many trails are season-specific. This trail would be too steep to hike on a hot summer day, but the waterfall is too icy to enjoy now. I make a mental note to try this hike at first light next summer. Then I bushwhack off trail to find a safe place to cross.
The drifts make it tough to see exactly where the trail is. Fortunately I fall down better than anyone else I know.
In fact, 43 years ago in early January (January 6, 1963, if memory serves me) I fell while ice skating on Mill Pond in Guilford, CT and broke my right tibia.
I ended up being tutored at home for three months, which was fine with me. My baby sister was only three months old. My mom was running our chicken farm while my dad worked a wage job; my middle sister was in school.
I learned during the winter of 1963, that babies are quite resilient. I hopped around on my left leg balancing my sister on my right hip. I dropped her a couple of times, and in spite of my lack of experience, she is a lovely, well-adjusted woman.
I’m quite convinced that “shaken baby syndrome” has to be deliberate assault. I was having so much fun playing with my sister, I don’t recall being angry or frustrated. Besides, my mom wasn’t far away.
By the time my leg healed and I was back in school, I was really good with babies. It was also the time our neighbor, Mrs. Shaw, sold her cow farm and seven split-level houses popped up like mushrooms the following spring.
That was seven families with babies and my first business venture.
But I digress…
My notes from the end of the day’s hike:
A titmouse called, flits over to a branch, and then down to the forest floor. It makes a snow angel with it’s wings and tail and then flies off.
I feel really close to nature at moments like this.