It was slow going in the woods today. A half a foot of snow fell and then a half an inch of solid ice formed over it. This was the equivalent of having to break a trail through an overgrown and neglected field or perhaps a mild jungle, except that it’s considerably colder. With each step I took, I had to lift my foot up a half a foot or so and then place it very deliberately downward. It’s not possible to walk straight forward, lifting my foot half an inch or so and then placing it down as I normally would. The ice makes that impossible. So not only is each foot lifted ridiculously high, but it’s placed down at an awkward outward angle so that I don’t hit my calf when lifting the foot again.
Needless to say, this is quite an aerobic workout and it’s a
good thing I’m in good shape, otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten very far. Even so, I did not travel as far as I would
have liked. Between the workout and the
howling wind, I reached my limit much sooner than I would have in the warmer
weather.
It’s not such a bad thing, though. Being forced to walk slower makes me look at
my surroundings more. I’m always amazed
at all the animal tracks around me. They
stay hidden so well, but in the winter they cannot hide their tracks. There are other wonderful things, too, such
as ice-encased twigs, each individually wrapped with its own transparent piece
of glass. There is the creaking and
clicking of the trees high up when the wind blows. There is the sparkle of the occasional
sunbeam that makes it through the trees and hits the ice.
It’s not as busy as it would be in the summer with the
frantic hum of life all around me, but this silence and coldness suits me
well. I enjoy following my own tracks
back out, laughing at how ridiculous they look.
I laugh out loud and then laugh again at the sound of my own laugh
because it is so jolting against the silence.
Winter is good.
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| Slow going tracks through the snow and ice. |
