a late season blessing in a dismal snow year

the days: the last week in march. we finally got a honest to goodness snow storm, with 2 feet or more of fairly heavy, good snow-person making snow. that fell on saturday the 23. saturday into sunday, it got a bit colder and much windier drying out the snow pack for early sunday, before the sun came out and heated things up. monday and tuesday it was sunny ~ish. wednesday and thursday, there was rain off and on. ...

the adventures: shoveling saturday and sunday & skiing each day except wednesday. ...

the memories: saturday was epic for several reasons: the deep, heavy stuff was a blessing after a rather dissmal winter. but with nobody to help break trail, going up through the glades at the shaker wma, would prove to be brutal on the hip. i suppose plowing turns through the same stuff on the way down didn't help either. then it could have been the ski that submarined a blow down that did me in. or maybe dropping the saw on the ascent, and finally finding it on the descent, once i took the skis off and kicked through my trail. anyway, by the time i got home, i was hobbling around.

sunday, early morning was a totally different story, skiing 2 feet of dry fluff up on town hill, was comparitively effortless!  the trade off was after shoveling the rest of the day, it was my upper body that was spent. 

monday was a recovery day while i went to work, but i got another town hill run in as the sun was sinking. even though it had been in the 40s the whole afternoon, the snow was still deep and fluffy ~ish, enough to prompt several attempts to find that best line through the trees.

tuesday after work, with my hip coming back into shape, i went up town hill again. the snow was still fairly deep and covering most everything, but also, definitely getting heavier. wednesday was a total washout, though my body seemed to like the rest.

by thursday after work, the rain had stopped, so i geared up for a soggy attempt to get in one more run out the kitchen door. coverage was getting pretty sketchy, especially where it was more open to the sun and rain. still, on the north facing spots i found plenty of snow with only an occassional rock to avoid.

notes:

• the older i get, the more i appreciate vitamin I...
• playing out in two feet of snow will make you smile...
• i'm seeing one more large ~ish snow fall forecasted for later this week...
• even if that doesn't pan out, this last dump was a great 'end' to the local season...

go outside and play!

tubing with the kiddos

the day: jan 14th. blustery and squally, as in windy as all get out with snow coming down to beat the band! we got more than an inch--light and fluffy--in less than an hour. after the first squall blew over, the sun peeked out, until the next one blew in...

the adventure: tubing around with ethan and sadie...

the memories: sadie brought ethan over for lunch and more importantly, a bit of winter fun. he had his snow suit, boots, hat, and mittens, i had a tube, and we had fresh powder on top of a good crust, ie, perfect tubing...

when the snow wasn't blowing in his face, ethan was all smiles. only you couldn't quite see that as he was also chewing on his snow suit collar...

notes:

• snow is wonderful...
• playing in the snow with a daughter and grandkid is even better...
• thank you pam for your photo journalism...

go outside and play!

finding holiday fun sans snow...

the day: dec 25th. warm~ish for december--in the north country maybe, but probably avg on the cape--somewhere in the 40s°F. no sun or wind, and no ice on the pond...

the adventure: a not so 'polar', but definitely cold dip in jenkins pond, falmouth mass.

the memories: years ago when pam and i lived in chapel hill north carolina, i mowed our lawn during the last week of december--more to say i did it than an actual need. last friday, driving down to the cape for christmas, i started thinking that jumping into a body of water over the holidays would be a great addition to that odd legacy. 

when i suggested a dip to sawyer, he was all about it. he even had a reference for motivational support, "cold water dipping can be exhilarating and life changing."

i'm not sure about life changing but exhilarating is spot on! and you gotta love sawyer's classic line that the inches of muck on the bottom "keeps your feet warm!"

notes:

• the ocean may have been warmer...
• a cold dip with sawyer, "in team [boxers] no less," makes a great christmas present...
• maybe little ethe will join us someday--when he is not sleeping...

go outside and play!

skunked on moosilauke

the day: apr 9th. warm, headed toward 50°, brilliant sun in a clear blue sky with no wind. we saw plenty of snow, in spring condition, soft and easy to turn on, but none where we could actually ski it.

the adventure: moosilauke, the western face, dropping down toward tunnel brook. we were trying to get to the slide under the ridge leading up to the summit. 

the memories: according to the dictionary, "slog" can be a noun, "a spell of difficult, tiring work or travelling" or a verb, "to work hard over a period of time... exert oneself, keep at it, grind" i can attest to both. after taking our skis off for the 'hundredth time', shouldering them, and starting another march down the snowless trail, adam casually mentioned, "this is getting to be a real slog." or, after finally strapping the skis onto our packs and setting off once again, adam suggested, "let's slog on a bit more and try and get eyes on the slide."

add to that, "bushwhacking" a verb, meaning to travel by foot through uncleared terrain. once we left the trail angling up the ravine toward the slide, there was more than enough bush to whack our way through. not only were we on foot, going through uncleared terrain, the skis sticking up off our packs were whacking away as well.

the clearest path up the ravine toward the slide, followed the stream and included multiple crossings.  ski boots are fairly waterproof, but can be slippery, especially on "black ice" a noun, "a nearly transparent film of ice on a dark surface that is difficult to see" i only semi-slipped once and ended up stepping in above my boot tongue. it didn't soak my foot, but i could feel the wet.

at some point it all got to be too much, even dangerous, as we were starting to "posthole" a verb "to sink deeply into the snow with each step" often around "tree wells" a noun, "deep pockets of loose snow around evergreen or downed trees" so we turned back. having not even put on our skis, we were bummed--"skunked" slang verb, "being shut out or to be overwhelmingly defeated"

notwithstanding all of the above, "overwhelmingly defeated" is probably an overstatement. true we didn't get to ski, and rigid plastic boots are not made for walking--even less so with wet socks--but, it was a beautiful day to be out adventuring. 





notes:

• it was indeed a slog...
• bushwhacking got worse as we got higher...
• trying to avoid black ice takes attention...
• postholing into tree wells can be exhausting... 
• getting skunked is a bummer...
• even a poopy day outside playing is a good day!

go outside and play! 

backcountry with sawyer

the day: mar 31st. warm~ish, somewhere around 40°F, no sun or wind, but still plenty of snow in spring condition, soft and easy to turn on but fast.

the adventure: 'secret sherbie' over on moose mtn with my most favorite son, sawyer. 

the memories: i have been talking moose mtn up to soy for a while and despite his lack of skiing, he was game. the last time we skied backcountry--and his first and maybe only--was at least a half dozen years ago. but i was thinking, it's not too tight, snow is good, and a 'hockey stop' is always an option. after a practice run in the field at the bottom, we headed up. 

sawyer was impressed with the terrain, and the coverage. with the helmet he borrowed from pam, he was willing to go downhill. at some point i went past him and got to the flats where i slowed and stopped to wait. when he finally came down he showed me his thumb...

him: i hit a tree...

me: ouch! you really whacked it...

him: if i can move it like this, i probably didn't break it, did i...?

me: probably not. it's wicked hard to break your thumb...

notes:

• fathers can be wrong, you can move a broken thumb "like that", and still smile. thank you diane for the diagnosis!
• continued good coverage on the last day of march is something to smile about!
• skiing backcountry with sawyer, in team jackets no less, makes us both smile!

go outside and play!