Reflections of an Old Man: Winter Hiking

Yesterday was a great day. I was privileged to be able to go out hiking in the canyons (above the muck and gunk in the valley) AND two of my sons went with me - Aaron and Jason. It was so beautiful and warm. The temperature was in the 40's and the air was very clear and crisp. It was a great way to chase away the old depression monster. I felt pretty good all day. It's been a while since I felt that good for a whole day. Thanks to Jason and Aaron for going with me.

We drove to the Stansbury mountains just East of Grantsville and went up Davenport canyon to the Stansbury trail head. The road was a little bit icy, but it wasn't steep enough or bad enough to cause us any troubles although I did have it in 4-wheel drive up the icy / snowy road. It was interesting that where the sun was shining the longest, the snow / ice had melted and left parts of the road muddy. I think the snow and ice is a little better than the mud but either way my truck took us without incident to the trail.

I got out and took a deep breath of the clean, crisp air. Looking down into the valley I could see the layer of muck and smog covering the valley. It was so good to be above all that. It was so nice that I only took my hoody with me and my wool glove liners. Heavy coats and gloves weren't needed on this day. We started hiking up the trail and for the first 1/2 mile, it wasn't bad because other folks had been up the trail and broke the crust of the snow. That made it easier than if we had to break fresh snow - especially since it had a crust on top that would break through with every step. With it already broken for us, it was a bit easier. There was about 10" of snow or maybe a little less. No problem walking in it. Somebody earlier in the day or probably the day before had been up the trail with snowshoes one. You could see the difference they made. It probably would have been easier if I had worn my snowshoes, but I didn't bring them this trip. I can certainly see now, how they would be very helpful, even in this amount of snow because you don't break through the crust so much and have the difficulty of lifting your feet up and out for every step.

It was a great hike of about 2.5 miles from the Davenport trail head to the North Willow road. We went up to a pass and then back down to North Willow, then back again. It's not very far between the canyons, so while it wasn't a long hike, it was a good one. I've done it before in less time, but never with that much snow before and I wasn't in any real hurry.

I'm grateful that I can still do that kind of hiking. The scenery was beautiful, the air was clean and crisp, the company was great and the exercise invigorating. It was so nice in fact that all of us removed our jackets before we were 1/2 through the hike. Amazing isn't it? Hiking in the snow and only wearing a long sleeved shirt and no coat or jacket.

Today, I am grateful for my family, my aging, but still able body, and good friends.