gaiagirl
New member
Got myself out of the house this morning very early but I was still afraid I'd be a little late to join MtnMagic and friends on the Hancocks. A couple of stops along the way and lo and behold I arrived shortly after they departed if I had to guess. I turned back around and headed for Lincoln Woods, thinking it'd be a good time to practice my cross country skiing ( I am NOT good and falling hurts! ...LOL. I still have a bruise from last weekend on Livermore Rd.!!!) So I skiied on Lincoln woods trails for an hour or so, at least until I felt I had adequate control and was feeling less stiff on the skis.
My next order of business was trying out my new boots .... a pair of Koflach Degrees in a size 7
. Oh my they are a thing of beauty! I was a little worried they'd be too small having had Jim rent a 9 for me when we did Madison a few weeks ago (they were big but I assumed an 8 would be just right). But, I saw the 7 at a steal of a price for me, and just tried em' on and thought they might do it, grabbed em' and vowed to test them out this weekend. So onto the Greeley Ponds trailhead for a stab at East Osceola anyway. I wasn't too concerned about bagging anything, more about getting out on a gorgeous day and figuring out if the boots would work for me without making anyone else miserable if they were too small and killing my feet. Luckily for me I had a pair of crampons with me (ummm, Jim, did I forget to mention I forgot to take your crampons out of my pack on Thursday??? .... Ooops!! Sorry!!!) and though my first stab at fitting them to the new boot didn't work perfectly, with a little help from some high school aged kids on their way down, I figured it out and they worked BEAUTIFULLY. Osceola Trail from this side is VERY steep in places, but I honestly had no trouble and practically flew up there! Some of the steep spots coming down were tedious and slow but the rest was done pretty speedily. A couple of guys on their way down, and concerned about me on my way up and hiking alone were still on their way out on Greeley Ponds Trail when I nearly passed them coming out .... I did tell them I was fast, but I guess they didn't believe me . It was quite windy up top, but still tolerable. Another winter day that temperature-wise seemed more like later Spring. The sky was even hazy, though basically clear and blue, I think from the warm air. Did anyone else notice this?? What a great day Hope everyone else enjoyed it too!
My next order of business was trying out my new boots .... a pair of Koflach Degrees in a size 7
. Oh my they are a thing of beauty! I was a little worried they'd be too small having had Jim rent a 9 for me when we did Madison a few weeks ago (they were big but I assumed an 8 would be just right). But, I saw the 7 at a steal of a price for me, and just tried em' on and thought they might do it, grabbed em' and vowed to test them out this weekend. So onto the Greeley Ponds trailhead for a stab at East Osceola anyway. I wasn't too concerned about bagging anything, more about getting out on a gorgeous day and figuring out if the boots would work for me without making anyone else miserable if they were too small and killing my feet. Luckily for me I had a pair of crampons with me (ummm, Jim, did I forget to mention I forgot to take your crampons out of my pack on Thursday??? .... Ooops!! Sorry!!!) and though my first stab at fitting them to the new boot didn't work perfectly, with a little help from some high school aged kids on their way down, I figured it out and they worked BEAUTIFULLY. Osceola Trail from this side is VERY steep in places, but I honestly had no trouble and practically flew up there! Some of the steep spots coming down were tedious and slow but the rest was done pretty speedily. A couple of guys on their way down, and concerned about me on my way up and hiking alone were still on their way out on Greeley Ponds Trail when I nearly passed them coming out .... I did tell them I was fast, but I guess they didn't believe me . It was quite windy up top, but still tolerable. Another winter day that temperature-wise seemed more like later Spring. The sky was even hazy, though basically clear and blue, I think from the warm air. Did anyone else notice this?? What a great day Hope everyone else enjoyed it too!
