Jabberwalk
New member
Serenity is a solo snow shoe hike in a snow storm. I really enjoy hiking by myself because I get to sort through all the issues and clutter in my mind, and then to clear it. Today I headed off to Mt. Percival intending to loop over to Mt. Morgan. I always do these peaks in this order to avoid being in lock-step with a group of people. No one had been on the Percival trail since the snow began on Sunday.
I was glad that the SLA had recently refreshed the yellow blazes - the trail seemed to disappear in the snow. I heard a deep drumming of a woodpecker followed by the raucous cry of the pilated and I wondered if I would have focused on this if I had been with others. The trail began to steepen, and I was getting tired, when I came across some evergreens with crystallized snow flakes on them. http://inlinethumb35.webshots.com/31906/2843896080104319334S500x500Q85.jpg I doubt that I would have seen this amazing display with I had been with a group. I reached the top, and enjoyed just a brief stop before heading off on the Crawford Ridgepole trail.
Another benefit of solo hiking is that pit stops are absolutely stress free. No worrying if you are going to hold up the group, or whether you should run ahead or just wait for everyone to pass you by. Quite nice. I didn’t meet up with any signs of others until I reached the Morgan trail junction. Two snow shoers had already traveled up to the peak. My timing was perfect. They provided a nice easy route back down the hill for me. It wasn’t until I was near the parking lot that I met the only person I saw on the trail today. He probably thought that I was nuts – with a full backpack, belly pack, snow shoes and poles. He had nothing - no back pack of any sort, or water or snow shoes, only his ipod stuck into his ears!
Here are some more photos of the day.
http://sports.webshots.com/slideshow/576395897mQITrh
I was glad that the SLA had recently refreshed the yellow blazes - the trail seemed to disappear in the snow. I heard a deep drumming of a woodpecker followed by the raucous cry of the pilated and I wondered if I would have focused on this if I had been with others. The trail began to steepen, and I was getting tired, when I came across some evergreens with crystallized snow flakes on them. http://inlinethumb35.webshots.com/31906/2843896080104319334S500x500Q85.jpg I doubt that I would have seen this amazing display with I had been with a group. I reached the top, and enjoyed just a brief stop before heading off on the Crawford Ridgepole trail.
Another benefit of solo hiking is that pit stops are absolutely stress free. No worrying if you are going to hold up the group, or whether you should run ahead or just wait for everyone to pass you by. Quite nice. I didn’t meet up with any signs of others until I reached the Morgan trail junction. Two snow shoers had already traveled up to the peak. My timing was perfect. They provided a nice easy route back down the hill for me. It wasn’t until I was near the parking lot that I met the only person I saw on the trail today. He probably thought that I was nuts – with a full backpack, belly pack, snow shoes and poles. He had nothing - no back pack of any sort, or water or snow shoes, only his ipod stuck into his ears!
Here are some more photos of the day.
http://sports.webshots.com/slideshow/576395897mQITrh
