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Last Friday, November 17, Taehee, her colleague Cyrus, and I went out for our first snowshoe hike of the season. The weather was beautiful: sunny and mild with no wind. The original plan was to go to a saddle above Lake Valhalla, but difficult snowshoeing conditions along with not enough snow yet to cover logs and others obstacles, or to make stable snow bridges over a creek in full-spate, made us change the plan. We weren’t set on any particular destination, so we went up the snow-covered trail to a swampy meadow just below Union Gap, where we enjoyed the quiet and beautiful weather, ate lunch, and then headed back down. Snowshoeing is usually a very quiet and peaceful mode of travel but not this day! Recent rain in the area had left a half-inch crust on the snow which made for a loud “CRRUNCH – CRRUNCH” with every step. That combined with an unusually large number of snowmobiles for a weekday--and even a bold Toyota truck--on the Smith Brook Road made for a rather noisy “backcountry” experience. No wind was nice for comfort, but it meant the fumes from the snowmobiles lingered on the road and we all got back to the car with headaches. It was fun to get out for an early-season snowshoe, but the conditions will be much better after a couple more heavy snowfalls.

1. At the start of the hike

2. A bold pickup braves the snow

3. Passed again by the same pickup after we got ahead of it via a shortcut

4. Cyrus and Rick at lunch stop

5. Cyrus and Taehee ready to head back down

6. Along the trail

7. Back on the road, the quiet was over

8. Cyrus and Taehee on the road