Feb 11 2012
Icy Trail
The lack of snow is making a lot of Vermonters grumpy these days. Even those of us who don’t ski are missing the white stuff. Vermont in the winter isn’t same without a blanket of white. Oh sure, there’s snow in the mountains and the ski areas are making their own, but here in the valley we get a dusting that melts with the next sunny day. Then the ground is half-naked again. It’s unsettling.
Snow or no, I went for a walk the other day. I went to Aldis Hill as I usually do when I’m short on time but need a woods fix. I was shocked to find the trail a solid mass of ice and immediately regretted not bringing my Yaktraks. I slipped and slid along, often leaving the trail for better footing yet returning to it out of sheer habit. I crept along slowly. That helped.
Matika didn’t mind, of course. Any time out-of-doors is a good time for her. Then again, she wasn’t on the trail itself.
I slipped and took a hard fall at one point. No surprise there. Got up and immediately checked to see if anything was broken. A slight abrasion on my hand, that’s all. A few minutes later, I slid ten feet. After that I tramped through the woods back to the car. An icy trail isn’t a trail, really. It’s a river of ice reminding three-season hikers like me that winter is fundamentally inhospitable. This one is for sure. So now it’s just an impatient wait until springtime. Fortunately, in a year like this, that can’t be far away.
2 responses so far
2 Responses to “Icy Trail”
My part of Ontario looks the same, and has been that way for many weeks. Too icy on the trails even for yaktraks and other such items. I’ve been walking beside the trails where possible, bending under tree branches. I got a photo of the tracks of a coyote [there was a very thin layer of snow] on an icy trail where it had slipped about 6 inches, several times – so it is icy even for the animals with claws!
I’ll include Vermont in my prayers [so far unsuccessful!] for either much warmer weather or lots of snow… anything to get traction on the trails again. In the meantime, best wishes from a sister hiker north of you!
Try skates.