My destination was the Hayburger Trail at Elk Island National Park. I left the parking lot at 10am and returned at 1:15pm. It was 12.2kms of snowy fun.
I was glad that I went early in the day because there was a whole lot of melting going on when the temperature hit a balmy 14C. By the time I got back to the parking lot, I had peeled off a few layers of clothing and the snow was beginning to stick to the bottom of my cleats.
The parks staff will have their work cut out for them once the spring
melt is done. I counted 8 trees down across the trail. Most were on
the ground so they were easy to go over but two were not toppled all the
way so I had to tip the sled over and try to push it under the trunks.
Fun times!
On my jaunt around the trail loop I heard squirrels, chickadees and the runners of my sled on the snow. There were lots of tracks in the snow; bison, elk, hare, squirrel, deer, coyote and mice.
The only other human that I met up with was back at the parking lot when I was breaking the sled down. Another hiker was just headed out for some fresh air.
It's getting to be a bit challenging to hike on the trails now. The snow is too soft to walk with snow boots alone yet when I put the snowshoes on, the snow balls up under the cleats so it feels like I'm stepping on a baseball. Water is beginning to pool in the low spots. I'll have to dig out the rubber boots soon. This week I've been walking on the road that winds along the lake where I live. It's snow-free and dry so there's no slip-sliding happening when I walk.
The pussy willows are out. The Canada Geese are back and looking for open water. I noticed some of the birds collecting twigs for nest building. I do believe that spring is sprung.
I'll be sure to get out and enjoy the trails more once the ice has melted off. I've found a handy trail app for my phone and have set a goal of 5 hikes per week. So far so good. It is tracking the distance of my hikes and the speed that I've been walking. Nothing like having some robotic voice coming out of my pocket that informs me of the distance that I've traveled.
I hope you are able to get out and enjoy the bird calls, the smells and the sights of spring as it arrives. You don't need to have forested trails; the local park will do. Happy trails!
On my jaunt around the trail loop I heard squirrels, chickadees and the runners of my sled on the snow. There were lots of tracks in the snow; bison, elk, hare, squirrel, deer, coyote and mice.
The only other human that I met up with was back at the parking lot when I was breaking the sled down. Another hiker was just headed out for some fresh air.
It's getting to be a bit challenging to hike on the trails now. The snow is too soft to walk with snow boots alone yet when I put the snowshoes on, the snow balls up under the cleats so it feels like I'm stepping on a baseball. Water is beginning to pool in the low spots. I'll have to dig out the rubber boots soon. This week I've been walking on the road that winds along the lake where I live. It's snow-free and dry so there's no slip-sliding happening when I walk.
The pussy willows are out. The Canada Geese are back and looking for open water. I noticed some of the birds collecting twigs for nest building. I do believe that spring is sprung.
I'll be sure to get out and enjoy the trails more once the ice has melted off. I've found a handy trail app for my phone and have set a goal of 5 hikes per week. So far so good. It is tracking the distance of my hikes and the speed that I've been walking. Nothing like having some robotic voice coming out of my pocket that informs me of the distance that I've traveled.
I hope you are able to get out and enjoy the bird calls, the smells and the sights of spring as it arrives. You don't need to have forested trails; the local park will do. Happy trails!
No comments:
Post a Comment