where has all the winter gone, short time passing?

the mamas and the papas might not ever have sung such words, then again, they were always california dreamin! out here in the north east, we do have some winter, at least we used to. this week was a perfect example of 'what a difference a day makes' and how this winter's yo-yo-ing is the gift that keeps on giving! 

waking up monday morning, the temperature was down in the single numbers--maybe even under zero, but our thermometer is a bimetallic unit and it freezes up fairly often with condensation. zero° on march 2nd isn't surprising, it's normal. ok, it used to be. that morning, it made me smile. as i left for work, on foot, i headed downhill to cross over the river and through the woods, to school (as opposed to grandmother's house).

as usual, i had forgotten the camera. but the walk was quick with everything frozen solid. by the time i was commuting home, the temp was right around freezing and things were starting to soften. but, there was no sign that the ice would change anytime soon. 

tuesday morning, also started cold~ish, but it was forecasted to get well above freezing. i remembered the camera today and took pictures of my entry point, one looking down the river, another showing a side piece shifted up into the air, and my exit spot.



that is my two hundred--about--yards of river crossing: the cracks at the entrance point may look ominous but are only six inches and usually iced over, at least in the mornings; the footprints in the middle were from a soft afternoon the week before, and if you look really closely, or just pretend you see them, a trace of prints from kelly, tatum, eva, and i made over february vaction, show up to the left; that's my thermos for perspective, next to the jutting berg of side ice--it's 11 inches tall; and finally that's the exit zone, still very solid and complete, on tuesday morning, though the crack-line visible is a prelude to what is to come.

wednesday i had to be at several different schools hauling computer equipment so i drove. but just to see what was happening at the river, i walked down and snapped two pictures.



that kitchen table size open section is right were i usually step on. i was able to hop over the water onto solid ice at the right. i walked down the softening ice and pointed the camera back to where i got on. it was starting to open along the edges in multiple places, but i was not worried about the crossing ~ yet. however, the forecast was for warmer temps, not dropping below freezing even, overnight. 

well, forecasts can be wrong. when i got up thursday morning, it was about 29°F. i don't work on thursdays and fridays, but i decided i would walk into school and record any change in the ice. i got down to the river just after noon. getting on was pretty much the same as wednesday, but when i tried to get off in the normal spot, i had to back off a large chunk that started sinking when i got my full weight on it. i also discovered that my left boot leaked. i took a video of the crossing, but the file is a little too 'big' to fit here.

not wanting to go all the way back and then walk around via the rt 4 bridge, i walked further up river looking for a spot to get off. a little way further, i found a suitable, shady spot with solid ice right to the edge. i clambered up the steep bank and continued on to school. as far as i was concerned, the commute 'over the river and through the woods' was still a go.

friday dawned colder than the day before, but it was a shopping day for me. when i drove over the river on rt 4, i did notice there was a lot of open water downstream from the bridge. but it never got warmer than the 20s and that night it even went down into the teens. 

fortuitous for me, sawyer was up visiting and he had his drone with him. i convinced him to head down to the river and film saturday morning. despite some misgivings over the gusty winds, he gave it a try. the movie we made was again too 'big' for here, but we took a  couple of frames out for a look at the huge change that despite, the cold, had happened since i walked on the river thursday.

the first picture shows the house at the bottom middle, and the school at the upper left. you can barely see the river in the middle. 

the picture of the river stretches from get on point to get off, with substantial areas of open water between. 

while there was no where to go, i did find a way onto the middle ice and soy took a picture looking up- and down- stream.



while this week's adventures are clearly depressing, for me at least, with the ice going out, i am dealing with it. unfortunately, it is forecasted to be above average warm the next couple of days. still, no matter the weather, 'going outside and playing!' is always worth a smile. and bonus, this year i haven't fallen in the river ~ yet.

ps--tatum and eva, thanks for trusting me earlier, but if you come up anytime soon and i suggest we cross the river, make sure you have your swimsuits on.

pss--thanks soy for all your help with visual effects!

skiing in the 'north country' & birding on 'the cape'

february vacation, was well timed for a mid-week snow storm, followed by clear cold weather--as opposed to warmer, rainy days as seem to be so popular this winter.

wednesday the 19th, i met up with adam and we drove up to the glenn cliff side of mt moosilauke to check out the slides he had been to last winter. we found a parking spot on the logging road and started gearing up when a plow truck came out the road and asked us to move to a spot he would snuff out for us on the main road. adam already had his ski boots on and not wanting to take them off noted, "this ought to be fun" as he jumped back in the driver's seat.

well parked, we grabbed our skis and tracked down the freshly plowed logging road to the tunnel brook south trailhead. interestingly, on the south side of the notch we were skiing up to, we would be following slide brook. tunnel brook actually flowed the other way, toward the north trailhead.

no matter, the two brooks meet at a series of beaver ponds at the height of land, below a group of slides on moosilauke's southern flank to one side, and three large clear patches in the other direction. there wasn't enough snow in any of them.

supposedly there was another possible--read skiable--line on the other side of a ridge on moose. we skied along the beaver ponds hoping for a look, but ran into so much downed timber we abandoned the quest. all the slides we could see had far too little coverage to devote any effort to get to another one.

the trail on the map above goes all the way up to moosilauke's summit. we made it to the ponds and then a ways up toward the slides on the left below. there was plenty of snow in the woods to find a line back down through the trees.

we snapped a few photos on the way up as well. 

my favorite shot was one adam took up at one of the beaver ponds and edited to black and white. it reminds me of skiing up in the sierras with john muir and ansel adams.

after our little glade adventure, we joined back up with the trail and pretty much bombed down to the road. there were a few deep little cuts with open water that had to be negotiated with some finesse, but it was definitely faster with a gravity assist.

back at the truck, we were both smiling, despite not skiing any of the slides. if we get a bunch of march or april snows, we promised we'd be back.

thursday the 20th, was another cold, sunny day so i took my skis with me to work and snuck out early in the afternoon. i headed for the shaker wildlife management area and was on my skis 15 minutes later, pointed toward the potato run to test the snow. it was excellent--fast but not furious. 

i was playing the edges going down and using the middle--with at least one snowshoer track--going up. i have a couple of favorite rock launches and side 'walls' i use to try for some air time. with good speed, like today, it gets me excited.

when i turned to go back up for a second run, i started debating between little sherbie & the glades--which one would be more filled in than the last time when both were so sketchy. when i got to the glades turn off, there was a skin track somebody made the day before. with a set of dog prints following behind, i was guessing dick and bennie. my thought was, if it was good enough for them, it would work for me. i turned and followed them.

after locking down, i snapped a smile before pointing down dick's trail. as mentioned it was plenty fast, which made for quick decisions on when and where to turn. at one point i went left to avoid a new snaggle of blowdowns and the big birch i never cut out as it could be skied over with enough snow and some packing.


zigging left took me toward the ravine and lots more fallen timber so i zagged back right around a big oak--directly into a tangle of bushes and branches. i put up my arms and poles, closed my eyes, and plowed through.


out the other side, still with speed, i angled back toward dick's ski tracks and bennie's paw line--i should note that bennie's path was bang on the glade's trail while dick and i were off a good deal. i will also confess that i could feel a gash across the top of my cheek. but, in the moment, with further trees to avoid, i was having fun weaving them--at speed.


i did finally stop just above a huge blow down that pushed dick's tracks into the thicker trees. i took an image looking back up hill showing our relative speeds, today's fast sweeping turn compared to yesterday's slow, fall line cranks.



when i put the camera back in my pocket, i grabbed a handful of snow and pressed it to my cheek. as i expected, it came away bloody. that wasn't a big deal as i was mostly thinking about how wonderful the rest of the glades would be, and equally, the focus i would need to avoid any further injuries.

i was well rewarded and as i popped off the stone wall at the very bottom, rejoining the main trail, skip's "best skiing ever!" came to mind. by the time i loaded my gear into the truck, i had mostly forgotten the cheek. stopping into drummond custom cycles, robbie greeted me with "koby, your face is really bleeding." i was hoping it looked worse than it was, and would clean up--it did ok. i kept my smile!

friday the 21st, dawned clear an very cold, -16°F, which sort of put a damper on going back out for another early whack at it. pam and i were heading to the cape and wanted to leave 9:30~ish--it would not be warm even by then and besides i had to still pack. i bagged the skis and packed my binoculars for some birding with soy and han.


their house is right on the large hamblin tidal pond in mashpee with plenty of water bird activity to supplement feeder action right off their porch. it was going to be good weekend.


saturday the 22nd,  after a leisurely breakfast, we headed out for the day. at some point we wanted to get to the beach in sandwich. we brought along the binos to spot some ocean species. the closer to the water we got, the windier it was. we did see some new birds though--brandts and eiders. and we got a great set of pictures of me getting 'blown away' that would make a fine series:




sunday the 23rd, before heading back north, we headed out for a last walk through the woods on will's work road out to waquoit bay. i was hoping to add a couple of woodpeckers. that happened and we also saw a harrier and some terns--wether they were common or forster's we can only speculate--way across the inlet between cassie's beach and south cape beach.

it was a great trip, seeing hannah and sawyer and lots of birds--over 30 species. it was a perfect way to end a week of going outside and playing! there were smiles all around, north & south.

ps--simon, i hope your trip up from the cape was as rewarding as ours down and you got at least one good run in! -- maybe even saw a bird or two...