Ice melts. This is a key fact of life that should not be forgotten when hiking in the winter. Casey, Anthony, and I embarked on our trip to Tinker Cliffs as a part of our new attempt to hike every Friday. The weather was slated to be a beautiful - sunny and 50 degrees - that day, and we were ready to start our Spring Semester resolution. With it being the very last semester of college (
where has the time gone!?) and with me having finished up the first of my degrees and my minor last semester, I concluded that it was time to take it easy. Casey had the same idea and so we ended up with Fridays off. And thus it started - our resolution to hike.
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| Frolicking on an icy creek |
So it was that yesterday we decided to hike Tinker Cliffs. Casey and Anthony had each done this hike twice and I had done it once, but was excited to do it again. We arrived at eleven and began hiking. The layer of snow along the path suggested that we were the first travelers of the trail that day. Before too long, we came upon the creek that runs across the trail. The wooden bridge that used to be in place to facilitate stream crossing had been washed out and the "detour" trail was to take us upstream a ways to another bridge. We wandered along the side of the semi-frozen creek and happened upon a location that appeared to be frozen solid before we reached the bridge. Boys will be boys, I suppose, because Casey and Anthony couldn't resist pushing their limits and frolicking out onto the ice, despite the fact that the stream was very much unfrozen not too far downstream.
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| Casey attempts to run on ice |
"Whatever," I thought. And then I realized. My camera bag, was slung over Casey's shoulder and Casey was presently spinning in circles and sliding like a madman around on the ice. I pictured the ice cracking, Casey slipping, my camera falling into the water, and life as I know it ceasing to exist. I may have panicked slightly. I realize now that I may have overreacted just slightly.
Once the camera was safely ashore on the opposite side of the stream, and the ice had been thoroughly tested, I wandered across and successfully made it to the other side.
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| vulture flying |
The remainder of the hike was pleasant. We saw a downy woodpecker, a couple of adorable vultures, and managed to stay on our feet. The views, by the way, were incredible as always. The way back was a struggle, not because of snow and ice, but because of the thick mud that made the trail slick and caked to our boots. By the time we made it back to the stream, the ice cover on the stream, like on the trail, was significantly reduced. I was not about to cross the stream again. Although it would've made a good story to say that something interesting happened here, I am sad to say that I have no such interesting story. Plus, I'm a bit tired of writing. Casey and Anthony managed to successfully cross back over the ice, despite it starting to form crack lines. I found the alternate bridge and life was good for me and my camera.
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| snowy Tinker Cliffs |
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| us at the top |
