a run up cardigan on a frozen afternoon. after saturday's stormy weather, including a rain shower complete with thunder and a rainbow
pam and i were anxious to hike today, but then i heard her get on the phone with her friend rhonda. i wrote a note on the white board "i am headed up cardigan" and mouthed to her "do you want to come?" she shook her head ok, no, and smiled. rhonda was in israel and pam is planning to join her in a couple of weeks, so i am sure there were logistics to arrange.
i don't mind a solo hike and figured today would be a good day to get up cardigan as things would be mostly frozen, including the dirt roads getting up to the park. it never got above freezing today, that i saw, so i grabbed my go pack--some call it a 'bug out bag', there is even an 'bug out bag academy' dedicated to the art packing for survival--threw in the microspikes, a thermos of hot tea, jacket, and gloves and was out the door, just after 3:00p.
the road was indeed fairly solid, and the winter lot was almost empty. i put on my spikes, took off my sweater, and started up. at a water bar on the 2nd ski section, i played in the muck some to get things running off, out of the trail. there was still a fair amount of snow on the trails, but it was starting to go in the woods. i met a lone hiker coming down just above clifford bridge. he was bundled pretty tightly so i figured it was chilly up top in the wind.
the higher i got the windier it got. at turn-around-rock, i stopped and took off my spikes as the rock was fairly ice free. the wind suggested i put on a jacket, but i kept it stowed, deciding to keep going fast and put it on at the tower, loosing any extra heat from the hike.
that seemed to work well, as i made it without freezing. out of the wind, i stopped for a spot of tea and put the jacket on. before heading down, i snapped a picture then pulled up my hood and zipper for the first bit above treeline. i started out, walking sideways into the wind, whipping across the rock trying to blow my nose off.
it wasn't a race down, but after putting my spikes back on at 't-a-r', i didn't dilly dally. i passed a young guy going up and thought i heard a podcast playing from his backpack. i didn't recognize him as a local, but he seemed content with going up late enough to come down after dark-o'clock. when i got toward the lot, i spied his vehicle next to mine and tried guessing his plates--vermont. i smiled at the 'ski like a local' sticker on his window. it comes from the gear-X-change up in burlington and i have one--with the 'like a' cut out--on a water bottle (do you have that soy?).
as i was driving home, i thought about the conditions, or rather lack of them, for skiing. for me, i would rather slide up and down, than step, poke, crunch. it still being february, i have not given up hope for the winter...
pam and i were anxious to hike today, but then i heard her get on the phone with her friend rhonda. i wrote a note on the white board "i am headed up cardigan" and mouthed to her "do you want to come?" she shook her head ok, no, and smiled. rhonda was in israel and pam is planning to join her in a couple of weeks, so i am sure there were logistics to arrange.
i don't mind a solo hike and figured today would be a good day to get up cardigan as things would be mostly frozen, including the dirt roads getting up to the park. it never got above freezing today, that i saw, so i grabbed my go pack--some call it a 'bug out bag', there is even an 'bug out bag academy' dedicated to the art packing for survival--threw in the microspikes, a thermos of hot tea, jacket, and gloves and was out the door, just after 3:00p.
the road was indeed fairly solid, and the winter lot was almost empty. i put on my spikes, took off my sweater, and started up. at a water bar on the 2nd ski section, i played in the muck some to get things running off, out of the trail. there was still a fair amount of snow on the trails, but it was starting to go in the woods. i met a lone hiker coming down just above clifford bridge. he was bundled pretty tightly so i figured it was chilly up top in the wind.
the higher i got the windier it got. at turn-around-rock, i stopped and took off my spikes as the rock was fairly ice free. the wind suggested i put on a jacket, but i kept it stowed, deciding to keep going fast and put it on at the tower, loosing any extra heat from the hike.
that seemed to work well, as i made it without freezing. out of the wind, i stopped for a spot of tea and put the jacket on. before heading down, i snapped a picture then pulled up my hood and zipper for the first bit above treeline. i started out, walking sideways into the wind, whipping across the rock trying to blow my nose off.
it wasn't a race down, but after putting my spikes back on at 't-a-r', i didn't dilly dally. i passed a young guy going up and thought i heard a podcast playing from his backpack. i didn't recognize him as a local, but he seemed content with going up late enough to come down after dark-o'clock. when i got toward the lot, i spied his vehicle next to mine and tried guessing his plates--vermont. i smiled at the 'ski like a local' sticker on his window. it comes from the gear-X-change up in burlington and i have one--with the 'like a' cut out--on a water bottle (do you have that soy?).
as i was driving home, i thought about the conditions, or rather lack of them, for skiing. for me, i would rather slide up and down, than step, poke, crunch. it still being february, i have not given up hope for the winter...
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