Perhaps it would have been better if we hadn't gone out yesterday. The weather was terrible and as nice as the destination was, it wasn't worth it. But that's how it goes. Sometimes you suffer for no good reason. On days like that I question what the heck I'm doing in the mountains.
Sure. I could sit at home nursing my wounds (Did I mention the two silver dollar-sized blisters?), but it'd be more fun to get back outside. So rather than staying home we headed out for another round.
This time, the weather was much, much better. Broken clouds and fresh powder. So different than the day before. The route is one we follow frequently. It begins right at Snoqualmie Pass and climbs in the dense woods between the cleared ski runs. The way is marked with blue diamonds on the trees, which aren't hard to follow. (At least not during the day. It was a refreshing change from our usual trips at night.)
There was about eight feet of snow with six inches of powder on the surface. With snowshoes ("Tubbs, of course!" says the Tubbs Ambassador) there was little postholing or trouble staying on top of the snow. The trail winds through huge trees and little clearings. Every chance it could, the sun burst through the trees and sparkled on a billion minuscule, ice diamonds.
It's as though dear Mother Nature understood just what we had experienced the day before and was determined to make up for it. She did well. Well enough to remind us just how wonderful a day in the mountains can be even when we're still aching from the day before.
