two storms within a week's time--with no rain or melting between--and before thanksgiving at that!
pam and i had cruised a lasalette loop a couple of weekends back. it had been wicked blustery and cold-ish enough for pam to hood and hand warmer it. it was also sunny, which considering most of october and november, was a good time to get out and enjoy the woods--without getting soaked. but, armed with only the silkie bigboy™ hand saw, we had left a handful of bigger hardwoods to cut out later.
the following friday, as the first storm was tapering off, skip and i went back over with a chainsaw. going up the james jewitt trail--blue/green then green on the map--we cut out all the big stuff and a few new smaller tangles. at the height of land, we got pretty excited at the snow depth. that excitement flagged some at a plugged up stone culvert just past the 'potato field'. we cut a point on a pole which i used to 'drill' down into the leaves and muck. it seemed a bit useless until all of a sudden a very satisfying 'sucking' sound followed a whirlpool doing a pole dance down around the stick and into the culvert. skip gave out a call, as the muddy flow came through the other side.
coming down what we call the 'little sherbie', the moses johnson trail, we finished clearing the large hardwoods along with quite a few new fallen pieces. we got back to the truck feeling very satisfied that with another good snow, at least the green loop would be skiable!
on tuesday, we got our wish. it snowed and accumulated all day. both of us had to work, but wednesday it would be even deeper and we would have off. skip had a doctor's appointment in the am, so i told him to meet me over at drummond custom cycles after 'lunch o'clock'. food is crucial for skip. i had made muffins for the guys in the shop, and took them with me as i headed over to get a first run in. i dropped off the goodies and went across the road to try out the coverage.
the james jewitt side of the green trail is the long way up, but less steep than moses johnson--'little sherbie'. skip loves that one so i saved it. i went up the jj planning to take a side trail up to 'lost pond' and then come down through what we call the glades, my favorite. it was so peaceful, if i hadn't been skiing, i could easily fall asleep. to my surprise, two women came from the opposite direction. always keen to show others all the possible shaker paths, i woke up fully.
jen and jen were hiking the loop backwards but were open to checking out 'lost pond' and the glades. jen d was all about exploring new trails that could be mtn biked later. it reminded me of last year around the same time and about the same conditions, meeting jacob with kiddos nikao, and lolo--nikao with his little bike. they were likewise keen to explore. of course i was pleased to lead.
as self-appointed, semi-official 'lost pond' tour guide, i skied on excited. it worked out the jens were pumped at seeing the pond with its laid up stone damn. and speaking of pumped, they laughed when they noticed the relic pump that somehow ended up at the base of a tree growing on the damn. next time i go by, i will try to remember and take a picture.
the pond is the height of land and from there, we were headed downhill. i buckled my boots, and put my jacket and hat on, ready for it to get a little faster. again, the glades was my favorite run and i was hoping the coverage would be enough. it was, mostly, and though i stopped a few times for the jens to come down, the flow felt really good.
after getting past the rocky section, i kept with the flow all the way to the bottom. when i got to the tiny fields, a set of ski tracks came in. i skied back up to the jens and gave them the word so they would follow the right tracks--in this case the left ones.
i got back smiling to the truck, stowed the skis, and de-booted. when the jens arrived i they were delighted to jump at my suggestion that making snow angels would be a hit on their website bikekitz--"Empowering Women to Get Out and RIDE!" after all, playing in the snow is the winter version of riding. i borrowed the camera and tried to catch them in the act.
after they brushed off, we piled into the truck and went back to drummond's for muffins. they had walked over from there at the beginning of their hike and jen had snapped this picture looking up into hills we had just came out of.
it looked just like that now, only different--backwards in the rearview mirror. and that was ok--a fine ending to a wonderful day outside and playing!
ps of course it wasn't the end of the day, not yet...i called skip from the shop and he came over for a couple more runs. first, we yo-yo'd the blue/green section of the james jewitt. we took a last run, finishing on his favorite, the moses johnson, or little sherbie. as we were going up for the last time, we got caught in a crazy squall. skip's blue shirt, even his black pants, were dimming, even disappearing in the near whiteout. it reminded me of the phenomenal downpour on town hill soy and i were out in a couple weeks previous. only this time instead of getting immediately soaked, we got 'plastered' under giant white flakes. the wind was so strong, it felt like being sprayed with a snow-making gun. we looked like we had been too!
pam and i had cruised a lasalette loop a couple of weekends back. it had been wicked blustery and cold-ish enough for pam to hood and hand warmer it. it was also sunny, which considering most of october and november, was a good time to get out and enjoy the woods--without getting soaked. but, armed with only the silkie bigboy™ hand saw, we had left a handful of bigger hardwoods to cut out later.
the following friday, as the first storm was tapering off, skip and i went back over with a chainsaw. going up the james jewitt trail--blue/green then green on the map--we cut out all the big stuff and a few new smaller tangles. at the height of land, we got pretty excited at the snow depth. that excitement flagged some at a plugged up stone culvert just past the 'potato field'. we cut a point on a pole which i used to 'drill' down into the leaves and muck. it seemed a bit useless until all of a sudden a very satisfying 'sucking' sound followed a whirlpool doing a pole dance down around the stick and into the culvert. skip gave out a call, as the muddy flow came through the other side.
coming down what we call the 'little sherbie', the moses johnson trail, we finished clearing the large hardwoods along with quite a few new fallen pieces. we got back to the truck feeling very satisfied that with another good snow, at least the green loop would be skiable!
on tuesday, we got our wish. it snowed and accumulated all day. both of us had to work, but wednesday it would be even deeper and we would have off. skip had a doctor's appointment in the am, so i told him to meet me over at drummond custom cycles after 'lunch o'clock'. food is crucial for skip. i had made muffins for the guys in the shop, and took them with me as i headed over to get a first run in. i dropped off the goodies and went across the road to try out the coverage.
 |
| nearing the top of moses johnson photo by Jennifer Barden of bikekitz |
the james jewitt side of the green trail is the long way up, but less steep than moses johnson--'little sherbie'. skip loves that one so i saved it. i went up the jj planning to take a side trail up to 'lost pond' and then come down through what we call the glades, my favorite. it was so peaceful, if i hadn't been skiing, i could easily fall asleep. to my surprise, two women came from the opposite direction. always keen to show others all the possible shaker paths, i woke up fully.
jen and jen were hiking the loop backwards but were open to checking out 'lost pond' and the glades. jen d was all about exploring new trails that could be mtn biked later. it reminded me of last year around the same time and about the same conditions, meeting jacob with kiddos nikao, and lolo--nikao with his little bike. they were likewise keen to explore. of course i was pleased to lead.
as self-appointed, semi-official 'lost pond' tour guide, i skied on excited. it worked out the jens were pumped at seeing the pond with its laid up stone damn. and speaking of pumped, they laughed when they noticed the relic pump that somehow ended up at the base of a tree growing on the damn. next time i go by, i will try to remember and take a picture.
 |
| looking back up the glades photo by Jennifer Barden of bikekitz |
the pond is the height of land and from there, we were headed downhill. i buckled my boots, and put my jacket and hat on, ready for it to get a little faster. again, the glades was my favorite run and i was hoping the coverage would be enough. it was, mostly, and though i stopped a few times for the jens to come down, the flow felt really good.
after getting past the rocky section, i kept with the flow all the way to the bottom. when i got to the tiny fields, a set of ski tracks came in. i skied back up to the jens and gave them the word so they would follow the right tracks--in this case the left ones.
i got back smiling to the truck, stowed the skis, and de-booted. when the jens arrived i they were delighted to jump at my suggestion that making snow angels would be a hit on their website bikekitz--"Empowering Women to Get Out and RIDE!" after all, playing in the snow is the winter version of riding. i borrowed the camera and tried to catch them in the act.
after they brushed off, we piled into the truck and went back to drummond's for muffins. they had walked over from there at the beginning of their hike and jen had snapped this picture looking up into hills we had just came out of.
 |
| some of the hills above one of the shaker fields photo by Jennifer Barden of bikekitz |
it looked just like that now, only different--backwards in the rearview mirror. and that was ok--a fine ending to a wonderful day outside and playing!
ps of course it wasn't the end of the day, not yet...i called skip from the shop and he came over for a couple more runs. first, we yo-yo'd the blue/green section of the james jewitt. we took a last run, finishing on his favorite, the moses johnson, or little sherbie. as we were going up for the last time, we got caught in a crazy squall. skip's blue shirt, even his black pants, were dimming, even disappearing in the near whiteout. it reminded me of the phenomenal downpour on town hill soy and i were out in a couple weeks previous. only this time instead of getting immediately soaked, we got 'plastered' under giant white flakes. the wind was so strong, it felt like being sprayed with a snow-making gun. we looked like we had been too!
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