Groundhog's night

Hemlock Trail had four to six inches of fresh powder covering Icy patches on steep slopes.  snow shoes were a good idea. As always we leave the lights off unless we need them

Monday Night hike Green Lakes

From the parking area on route 290. We gain 200 feet of elevation within the first mile.

Then down to Round Lake. Mark leads in Silence both of us with lights off . He knows the topography and takes us from lowest to highest elevation multiple times to gain as much elevation as we can during our eight mile hike. From the southern end of Round Lake looking North in the night sky I saw vertical streaks of light. My first thought was Northern Lights. Mark said it may be ground Source light reflecting ice crystals in the atmosphere. There was continual vertical streaks coming and going without pattern. It was only in the northern sky and they were bright enough to be reflected in the Round Lake

Green Lakes

Saturday afternoon Karen and I hiked 4 miles around the Lakes. Karen took the lead and we were done in an hour and 15. It was foggy when we started and snowing when we finished

Night Hiking

I prefer night hiking with my light off. Once your eyes adjust  you still have a panoramic view .  Compared to hiking with a light on, where you have a narrow beam of  light and  all you  see is what's illuminated by the beam. Walking on a snow-covered Trail makes it easier to see in the dark because the snow reflects the ambient light. When I'm walking in point position I keep my light on full bright so I don't miss a trail Blaze or a hidden switch back. If I don't feel like leading, I fall back and follow the other hikers tracks in the snow. In the dark we rely more heavily on verbal cues. If the point person doesn't see a trail blaze in a tenth of a mile they holler back I'm off ,does anyone see the blaze. Then you see headlamps behind you scanning the area. When someone hollers I have a blaze I'm on the trail, all the headlamps focus on that point and follow like ducklings. Mark's hiking group chooses Point position by default. If you know the group's destination, and you feel like taking a lead position we follow. If you're tired and step to the side, the next person in line becomes the leader. Our group totaled seven, hiking from shackham pond to tinker Falls.when I'm leading the group on a night hike and I turn around and see a line of headlamps behind me it gives me a warm feeling of being an essential part of a group

Shackham pond to tinker

Last night 32 degrees, too warm for me to wear long johns. Trails were muddy at lower elevations. I'm glad I wore my heavy Gators and hiking boots. 6 inches of fresh snow higher on the Hills. It was soft underfoot and very pleasant walking. The snow started coming down heavy after 8 o'clock. We were in the shadow of the wind till we broke the Ridgeline overlooking Labrador pond. At that point the wind became Relentless and blinding snow.

My tent

My tent is the EMS velocity. Weighs 2 pounds. Sets up quick. I purchased this one during my 2012 Appalachian Trail thru hike .I hope this one lasts the entire Pacific Crest Trail. But for under $300 I'll get a new one if I need to

Tuesday morning commute

3 miles hike to work