June 1…. Snow Day

In June! Snow, and lots of it.

We went back to Crater Lake today, hoping to be able to hike some of the rim trails, but no.

The snow had melted off a bunch since last week, but there was still a ton of snow, lining the roads 8-10 feet deep and throughout the trees in the forest.

And to top it off, the sky was slightly overcast, and the wind was blowing pretty hard, so the mirror lake reflecting the blue sky was nowhere to be seen. 😞 So rather than call it a wasted trip, we went snowshoeing!

I grew up in the south and have lived my whole life there. I’ve tried snow skiing but had only ever read about snowshoes, or seen the tennis rackets strapped to their feet in cartoons and movies. But no.

New snowshoes are high tech things, light, mobile, and easy to use. It only took us a few minutes to strap in and get moving.

It was a beautiful day, and the snow was deep and white. Mostly. As we hiked around, we came across pinkish red streaks in the snow, like bloody trails caused by wolves dragging their caught prey, maybe? Susy thinks it was algae, but I like my imagery better.

Moving around in snowshoes is not nearly as difficult as I had imagined. Just keep your feet pointed forward, not out to the side, and never try to go backwards. Then just walk. Simple. The hardest part was going downhill, when these little short things wanted to pretend they were skis, and start sliding. I’m a Weeble, but Susanne is definitely not. She falls down.

We had no idea how deep the snow was where we were hiking, it may have been a foot deep or fifteen. Or an ice bridge over a deep crevasse. Or on a pond. Like my Aunt Patty always says, Ignorance Is Easier. Just go with it, enjoy yourself, and don’t overthink it. 😁