Although today is a really nice day, the 5 day forecast says to expect snow tomorrow and Saturday. How much, I'm not sure. Yesterday, I stopped at the store after work and stocked up on groceries. Not insanely so, like a man preparing for the Apocalypse, but I made sure to get a full load of the things I was needing. After a full month, from mid-December to mid-January, of not being able to fully drive up and down my mountain, I've learned to respect the snow and prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.
For about a week now, I've been able to drive all the way up and down my mountain (forwards and not in reverse) without having to hike through the woods either to my car or to my cabin. Although there are a couple areas of extreme mud now that are threatening the continuation of this liberty, it seems that snow trekking through the woods is a memory that I can now reflect on nostalgically; at least my first spell of it...we'll see what tomorrow and Saturday bring. The following is a list of some of these experiences that I hope to remember:
1. "I see you got your pizza...Merry Christmas." (Still makes me laugh out loud. Only family knows what this means and can fully appreciate it.)
2. My first hike to the car after the Winter Storm. There was still over a foot of snow on the ground and it came to the top of the river wader boots that I was wearing. They don't protect well from the cold and I got some snow down the left one. By the time I got back to the cabin my feet were nearly frozen, especially the left.
3. My first pre-dawn hike in the pitch black. I recited aloud Psalms and prayers to try to steel my nerves. I couldn't stop thinking about bears and mountains lions being that I was yards away from the spot where I was once charged by a bear and I was in the exact area where I had seen a bear cub since. Also, I'm not use to trekking around alone in the middle of the woods in the pitch black.
4. The pre-dawn hike in which an unknown animal followed me down the trail, just on the other side of the tree-line. When I stopped, it stopped. When I proceeded, it proceeded. The night before I had watched a program on TV about surviving in the snow that said to always remember the potential presence of mountain lions who continue to hunt in the snow and are present throughout the United States. I found one in my North Carolina wildlife guide. That morning I was convinced I was being stalked by one. More Psalms and prayers.
5. The pre-dawn hike when I startled a large animal just off the trail. Huge crash and commotion that almost stopped my heart, but then it just stayed there. I had to yell in its direction before it went barreling away through the foliage. Praise and Thanksgiving followed by Psalms and prayers. Couldn't find mountain gorilla in my North Carolina wildlife guide.
6. Shoveling snow in the dark and helping the Cruz family up the mountain. Company, homemade soup, and a break from Arctic isolation.
7. Hiking down the mountain in 25mph winds in zero degree temperature. Fairly comfortable. First realization of how much I was adapting to the cold.
8. Rushing up the mountain from its base with Armando and Evan carrying guns, clothes, sleds and groceries, trying to beat nightfall.
9. Hiking in 30 degree temperature with a windbreaker and realizing I wasn't cold. Pretty good for a Florida boy who migrated to Los Angeles, California. Maybe I'm becoming a mountain man after all.
10. Sledding with Evan. We only took a few rides each, but it was like we were kids again, playing outside and totally content to just enjoy play in each others company.
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