bonus! a snow day and i could take off work!!

it started snowing monday as i was finishing up a couple of computer images. craig stopped by--at an appropriate social distance--and asked how much did i think we would get. i committed to 5 inches, with "anything more would be a gift from the goddesses! and i won't be coming into work."

it came down hard all evening and by the time we went up to bed, there was a good pile on top of the vehicles. we had our five inches already--and it was still snowing. it was also in the upper 20°s, and supposedly going to stay there. that meant i would be skiing in the morning. thank you goddesses!

tuesday: the plow went by around 3:30a and woke me. as i lay waiting for its return trip, i heard a telltale creeeck of the snow pack on the roof, releasing tension as it got ready to slide. they were coming only one or two every five minutes or so when the plow came back, around 4:00a. there was no way i was falling back to sleep.

i had an early breakfast with tea, while finishing up and posting a late, monday's 'word for the week' in ttyol. as soon as it got light enough, i put on my snow bibs and went out to shovel. at some point, i was surprised by pam, sticking her head out the door, "skip's on the phone." we had planned to meet up at cardigan 9:30~ish, after he remotely met with his students. his principal had called all that off with the announcement, "it's a luddite day!"--the coronavirus school shutdown equivalent of a snow day. that meant we were going up early.

we got at least a half-a-foot down in the 'low' lands which usually meant more up high. it would be nice to get first tracks. i got my skis ready and was out the door before 8:00a. we were the first two there and being a little earlier than skip, i got three 'bottom' runs in as he geared up. there was plenty of snow--i never saw those two little 'doggie bags'--even on that section where the base had completely melted. after we rounded the first corner, our poles never even hit solid.



it was wet~ish and stick~ish enough that we left skins in our packs and went sliding along fairly quickly. skip did some herringboning on the steep in the first ski trail section. my scales were holding pretty well, even clumping some. i took the saw out when we got into the second section and we trimmed out a prominent spine running along the brook. if we remembered to turn into the woods, we could avoid the big ditch.

when we got back on the main trail, we crossed a set of boot tracks with dog prints. while we were cutting, a snow boarder and his dog got up above us. skip thought he recognized him. we were tracking the ski sections and trimming things as we went, so he got well ahead of us. close to the waterfall section, he came sliding down. as he slowly went by skip asked how the conditions were, he admitted, "a bit slow."

we kept on going up and saw where he had turned at the top of the fourth section. we were hoping to top out at the cornice on the upper end of the chute. interestingly, the snow seemed to be less deep up high. while we crossed over to the east side on the hurricane trail, the sun was trying to break through and making it even stickier--way stickier. that short section also had some wicked whoop-de-doo drifts that would be a blast skiing.



the cornice at the top of the chute stopped us. we tightened our boots, locked down our bindings, skip shortened his poles, and gave me a social distance smile. as i snapped the picture of our tracks i got pretty excited--according to skip, this definitely had potential to be "the best skiing ever!"

i never took the camera back out and stopped for only a few heart beats, once to saw out a couple of beech branches on that "prominent spine" that i had missed. skip waited above until i got out of the way and zipped through the fairly clear line.



the skiing was a delight. and as minute by minute it was getting warmer and warmer--read stickier and slower--we had gotten in and out in good time. 'go out and play!' early and often was working its magic and making us smile.





ps--having written about the woman "yelling and swearing" about social distancing in "recon up west ridge trail...", heard the state fish and game folk's "covid-19 response" discourage risky adventures in the mountains, and read several articles like outside online's "you probably shouldn't be backcountry..." i am well aware of avoiding elevated risk and will be changing my 'go out and play!' activities to less risky and local. keep smiling, be safe, and be well.

three days on town hill, and a recon up the west ridge trail on cardigan--with a birthday wish!

that's right, we were forecasted to get 6-8~ish inches of snow on monday evening! a couple of hikes up cardigan let me know that there was still plenty of base left, from tree-line down. that much snow would be great--probably even cover the dog shit!! in the meantime, town hill was right out our door.



friday: pam and i are hiking up town hill a lot in these days of social distancing. there is much comfort in stepping out the kitchen door and walking for miles without crossing paths with others. we did the short loop, past the truck and back on the porcupine trail. there was a section deeper in the woods, out of the sun, with a fair amount of snow left. i got pam to stop for a photo opp.



a pair of wellies and the bottoms of pam's poles give you an idea of what the rest of the trail is like--wet and leafy. it was warm enough to take off her jacket though, which probably meant closer to 50° than 40°. i never checked, but my t-shirt and sweater was plenty comfortable.





saturday: i had been hearing of a possible good amount of snow coming monday, so after breakfast i decided to run up the west ridge trail and scope out the remaining base after the warm day friday. i didn't think it would change much, but if it did i wanted to know where to not to deep carve a turn. plus it was sadie's birthday and i had a little penguin that wanted her send her a message--happy birthday sadila!

the coverage was still pretty good and certainly nothing 6~ish inches wouldn't cover enough to never notice. there were a few cars parked at the bottom, but hiking the ski trail, i saw nobody all the way up, and most of the way down. i ended up passing two parties, a bit surprised they didn't have micro-spikes and  wondered how far they would end up going? a cold night had frozen things up solid and it was slippery!




i was not surprised at the number of dogs going up the mtn. in my last post i complained about all the dog shit in the middle of the trail. i had removed two big piles up higher today already. but as i got to the last corner, i saw two tied up bags of poop set by the side of the road. my only hope was that the owners who left it were still hiking and would be picking it up on their way down. it made me mad enough to almost say something--almost.



when i got down to the gate, a group of college kids were rounding one side as i went around the other. an older woman was standing in the road "ripping them a new asshole" (as she informed her partner when i passed by) on the seriousness of social distancing. even though i was just thinking about telling the next dog owners to be sure and clean up after their pet, i was a little taken aback at her yelling and swearing. i threw my stuff into the truck and left that scene.

pam and i took the afternoon to walk the town hill loop again and this time i took a series of her on the big snowy section.



it was cold enough today to keep the jacket and hat on, though the wellies were still useful in the wet sections.



sunday: was another cold morning, but by the time we went out in the afternoon, it was getting close to freezing. we took the loop counter clockwise today so we hit the snow patch going the opposite way. i almost forgot to get a picture, but i managed to snap this one just before she walked off of it.


given we still had plenty of daylight left--note my shadow is not as long as pam's was in the series above--we decided to hike all the way to the marsh off bear pond road. i did a little cutting along the way, trimming back small trees bending into the trail. there is one section where the trees have really long, sharp thorns, and they always seem need cutting back. someday i will look them up and identify them--i don't think they are native.

the beaver pond at the bottom of the trail--just beyond the thorns--still had a skin of ice on it in a couple of places, way too thin to cross over. i looked for wood ducks on the open water out in the sun, but i think it's still a week or two early. the hike back went smoothly and we were coming down town hill with an hour of sunlight to spare.




these three day weekends, with our backyard trails, are pretty sweet. it's enough to put a smile on a face, especially with snow in the forecast. who wouldn't want to 'go outside and play!' with all those riches?

some "downtime" doing up-time

after writing this morning--check out 'talk to yourself out loud'--all about being way too busy working, i went up mt cardigan for a winter walk. it was still snowy and frozen the whole way. that, and being in the middle of a thursday, i had the mountain all to myself!

driving up to the winter parking lot, i figured there wouldn't be many cars. i smiled as i pulled in, the lone vehicle. after squeezing around the gate and the frozen piles of last weeks snow, i went about 100 yards before i stopped to put on micro-spikes. slipping on the ice was one concern, but mostly i was hoping to avoid the frequent piles of dog shit, not so well placed in and along the path. that did not make me smile!

once i got up to the summer lot, the frequency fell to every once in a while, but annoyingly, still right on the trail. it was also still very icy where the volume of hikers was high. the two pictures below are not too far along, looking ahead on the left, and behind on the right.



when i got to the south ridge cut off, the ice continued up west ridge, but looked snowy on the less traveled trail. i took two more pictures, again looking ahead and then behind, to show the difference.



i was thinking that heavy travel compacted the snow and when we had those warm days over the weekend, it helped make the usual trail nice and icy. that's not to say there wasn't ice in the usual spots on south ridge. i remember posting images of skip and i--this year and last--posing at the big flow at the bottom of where it gets really steep.

surprisingly, there was a lot of snow on the trail and not all that much ice on the flow. the snow stayed plentiful until i got atop the ridge and it came and went with the trees. it got thick again when i rounded the warden's cabin and stayed until i got up closer to the summit on the south facing rock.

coming at the summit from the south east, i realized something was weird, the wind was at my back. usually, like 9 times out of 10, the wind comes out of the northwest. this was exactly opposite. when i snuck around the tower to cut the wind i took a picture looking towards smarts mtn--off to the northwest.

it doesn't show too well, but it looked like the sun was trying to break through on the hills beyond the guy-line. no sun was headed my way so i packed the camera and headed down the west ridge trail.

no more than 20 yards downhill, i stopped and shook my head in disgust. i even got the camera out to take a picture of the spray painted "kind is cool" message on a large~ish boulder. 

the message is a few years old and fairly worn down--people have been wire brushing it periodically. sam evans-brown did a great episode, "leave no stone", on his wonderful show outside in, that includes a fresh picture. i don't always see the message, no matter, kindness may be cool, spray painting rocks in the mountains is f*cked up!

i was sad for a ways after that until i had to refocus when the mostly bare rock got really icy. i had to stop and put the micro-spikes back on. that helped in all but the sketchiest of spots with really hard ice. 

i made it down safe and until i got back to the dog shit i was smiling--again. most anybody would agree that even with graffiti and pet poo, it's always a joy to 'go outside and play!' 

ps--skip, there is plenty of base, top to bottom, if we get another good snow. after all, it is still march!

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...