We survived! The snowpocalypse/snowmageddon/class-3-kill-storm didn't get us. It was close, but even three feet of snow in a week couldn't do us in. It didn't even sour us on winter. That's why we headed up into the mountains in search of even more winter fun.
No surprise, we didn't have to go far. If there's snow on the ground at home, you can bet there's going to be snow at just about every trailhead we frequent. Truth be told, we couldn't actually get to the trailhead so we just parked on the exit ramp leading to... Tinkham Road. (You didn't know she was so famous there was a road named after her, did you?)
Scott, Odin, and Freya showed up and we started up the McClellan Butte trail. McClellan is not a summit for days when there's avalanche danger so we only intended to go up the first section. We still got a workout, though. The snow was wet with the consistency of mashed potatoes and the dogs ran up and back and up and back endlessly.
Oh. And the young dogs were intent on taking turns dominating each other. There were lots of crinkled noses and bared teeth followed by big smiles. And then we went home (yes, without a summit) and the dogs slept.
See? The crazy storm didn't ruin winter for us. If anything, it showed us how much fun deep snow can be even if there isn't a summit involved. Plus, we didn't have to shovel any of it.
(If you're observant, you might have noticed Tinkham has a pinch collar on while she's off-leash. That's a no-no, as we've learned. You won't see her like that once we get caught up, but for now, feel free to hold your comments.)
