Yesterday I woke to find it cloudy. The light was grey and flat; not good for photography.  That didn't stop me from throwing the rest of my outdoor gear in to the vehicle; snowshoes, skates, cleats and skis.  I was prepared for whatever the snow conditions happened to be at Elk Island National Park.

I drove to the Amisk Wuche Trail.  The parking lot was empty.  It was going to be a good day.  After checking out the trail conditions, I decided on the cleats and hiked the 2.5kms.  It was silent and calm and peaceful.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/elkisland/activ/a/a5.aspx 

The only sound I heard was the crunch of the snow underneath my cleats.  As I made my way into the forest, the squirrels began chattering.  I watched a couple of them chase each other up and down the tree trunks.  The black capped chickadees flitted from twig to twig in the underbrush.  Their sweet 'cheeseburger' songs could be heard through the trees.  There were lots of animal tracks that wound through the trees; squirrel, hare, mouse and coyote from what I could tell.
I didn't stop at my usual snack bench so I made it back to the parking lot in under an hour.  There was plenty of time to take out the skis. 

The lake surface can be accessed from the parking lot by making your way through the trees, down a hill.  There was some fluffy snow on top of a wind-packed layer.  I brought my shorter, wider adventure skis that are great for breaking a track.  It turned out to the easier than I had anticipated.  I skied a loop along the shoreline.  It felt good to be on the skis.

Now that I have a track set I plan on taking the regular classic skis out today to make take advantage of the new trail.

The 'icing on the cake' so to speak, happened when I drove into the Astotin Lake area on my way home.  Two mule deer were eating twigs in the underbrush beside the road.  They didn't mind my watching and photo-taking.  It was the perfect ending to my outing.

For more photos, check out my 'Ramblings of an Outdoor' Girl Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/Ramblings-of-an-Outdoor-Girl-1015659961820012/