Hiking

[Crankin]

We finally got back to Willard Brook State Park. Much more snow there, in the woods. Not enough for snowshoes, but crunchy, with ice under a lot of it. It was about 38 and alternating between sunny and cloudy. I was a bit overdressed, but near the end, glad.
So, there was a good long climb in the middle and then DH decided to turn a certain way so we wouldn't backtrack or do too little. Having the All Trails app is great, but I still get nervous. We turned off of the SP trail, onto one with a name and sign that looked
like it was a nordic ski trail. There were no markers, but signs at the intersections. We eventually saw another couple... and got to a place we were familiar with and near the end.
The scenery was nice, but not especially different. I would love to snow shoe there, with more snow, of course, and also find out where those other trails are from. 4.5 miles.

[Crankin]

Had a good and very challenging hike up Northfield Mt. Sunday, about 4.4 miles. This is a cross country ski/recreational area and it's sad to see it so bare. There was a layer of crunchy stuff on the snow shoe trail. Met our friends there and we all comiserated about the lack of snow. DH and I hiked this August and it seemed harder Sunday! Not technically hard, just really steep in a few places.

[emily_in_nc]

I guess all the recent New England snow must have gone north of you. Sorry, Crankin! Every night when I watch the national news, I see TONS of snow, but it's mostly out west and in the plains, I guess.

[Crankin]

It is depressing. There is snow up north, but I am not sure how great it is. Our friends are going up to the White Mountains this weekend, staying where we stayed over New Year's. They asked us to come, but we didn't want to spend the $, as we are unsure of the conditions (even though all of the x country centers say it's good) and in the middle of planning our summer trip, which is really expensive. But, we will make one more trip before winter is over, even if there's no snow around here. We had a little storm last night, but no more than 1-2 inches. It was over 40 today, so it was pretty on my group hike, but it's all melted now. There is nothing else predicted except snow turning to rain next Wednesday.
So, I keep hiking and riding my bike when I can, along with the gym. Another month and I will be focused on seriously getting back on the bike.

[Catrin]

Glad you can get out and hike Crankin, though there are other winter activities you would like to do. How messy are your trails?

It's so warm here that I know the trails would be mud-sucking quagmires so I've not been going. It MIGHT be cold enough Saturday morning for the trails to be at least semi-frozen, or at least I'm crossing my fingers that it will be possible.

[Crankin]

Occasional muck. The hike in the state park last Saturday was muddy, but not muck, as there's more running water there than other places I hike. Today was an inch of fluffy snow over pine needles and leaves. So, a bit slick, but I had to take off my spikes, because they were clumping up with snow, leaves, and ice pellets, although it was not icy. Mostly, my hikes have been a bit of crunchy ice/snow, punctuated by leaves, or just plain icy. I actually don't mind if it's muddy, I just need to remember to take my shoes off before I go in the house.

[Catrin]

Occasional muck. The hike in the state park last Saturday was muddy, but not muck, as there's more running water there than other places I hike. Today was an inch of fluffy snow over pine needles and leaves. So, a bit slick, but I had to take off my spikes, because they were clumping up with snow, leaves, and ice pellets, although it was not icy. Mostly, my hikes have been a bit of crunchy ice/snow, punctuated by leaves, or just plain icy. I actually don't mind if it's muddy, I just need to remember to take my shoes off before I go in the house.

Sounds great! I don't mind mud if it isn't a quagmire. It's been so bad that if the trail has a sideways lean, one starts sliding to the edge 😲 when that doesn't happen so much mud collects on boots that it quickly becomes hard to move, and that is just destructive. I DO hope I can hit the best drained trails this Sat, time will tell.

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