Snowshoeing, with Lots of Excuses

I took Taffy for a snowshoe hike in the late afternoon today.  She is learning about skis, and ski poles, and snowshoes, and how they are not toys meant just for her.

We paused a lot.  At the top of the hill, we stopped to check out the wood chips dropped by the pileated woodpecker.  Very telltale, these -- if you just look up, you'll find the hole in the tree. These are very fresh, so we know there's a good chance to see the bird at work.  My post about the Woodpecker's Tongue, and how they are able to bang their heads into solid wood without falling over unconscious has proven to be one of the most popular posts we've had on this Blog.  But then, that's fair. The pileated is one of our favourite birds.

We paused in the back field, to admire the snowshoe tracks.  Right now, we are hosting the Seniors for Nature Club at the Resort.  And this morning, the Huntsville Walking Group dropped by, so the trails got a lot of use today.  Conditions were pretty icy for skiers, so the snowshoers were out in force.



We stopped -- well, to be honest, I stopped... Taffy just kept on running laps around me -- to admire the sun setting behind the gravel pit hill.  Just like that the snow goes from glittering white to deep blue.  And I was able to catch my breath without making it obvious.

That's the view in the opposite direction, with the sun over my shoulder.  This is one of the most beautiful trails, running along the edge of the Hidden Lake.

And we paused to briefly chat with Rob, who's staying at the resort with his Club members.  We both commented that we'd hoped the snow would have softened a bit by afternoon to make the skiing a little less speedy, but that didn't happen.

I remarked that it made for fabulous snowshoeing, to which he replied that he had already done 12 km on snowshoes earlier in the day.  Wow.

I should send Taffy with him... we might get the puppy tired out.