the day: december 31, with the temperature right around the same, definitely not below 31°F and pretty depressing for the last day in the year. even worse, it was totally socked in, and threatening to rain--check that, by the time we were heading back down it was actually raining.

the adventure: i had been wanting to show pam our new ski trail, the "secret sherbie" and she was game to test out her new snowshoes--while there was still some snow. my plan was to get up to the first plateau, turn around and head down. she was game for a bit of a loop through the woods at the top, but when we got up high we were in some pretty 'thick soup'. meandering about in the clouds made her a bit nervous, so we circled back to the big birch blow down skip and i ski down.

the memories: more than a few times--even after it started raining--pam mentioned how beautiful the trail was. old stone walls heading off into the woods, with several foundations along the road were signs that long gone others*, probably thought the same.

she was also quite pleased with her snowshoes and loved them even more when i showed her how to use the climbing bails on steep sections. once we got out of the thickest fog, i took a picture--with her phone. true to form, i had forgotten my camera, again.

notes: hiking with pam is one way to always have the capability of taking a picture. 

• try to find out if there are any heirs to the marcy family* 
• climbing bails are good

go outside and play!