Outstanding, that's the word for the dump of snow that happened over the weekend. 24 hours of fluffy flakes falling yielded some snowy trails that were calling my name.

I took my x-country skis along but when I saw how much snow covered the trail, I decided on snowshoes instead. It seems that I've been the first out, except for the wildlife, every time it has snowed. Breaking trail doubles my time out. It usually takes me 12-14 minutes per kilometer when I have the snowshoes on but breaking trail doubles that.

There were moose, deer, coyote and mouse tracks crisscrossing the snowy trail. The tracks went down the pond bank and across the frozen surface. Crow calls echoed through the woods. The sun was behind the clouds but it came out by the time I was halfway through the trail loop. It was postcard perfect.

I made sure to stop a few times to admire the wintry scene and to take in a few full breaths of that crisp clean air. It was glorious and that's exactly how I felt when I got back to the parking lot.