|

A walk in the snow

ByMatt
A layer of mist hovers over the snow behind the house.
A layer of mist hovers over the snow behind the house.

Well, now that Winter has finally arrived, we thought it might be fun to tromp through the snow and get some exercise. I dusted off the snowshoes (literally) and we set off for a little hike out of our back yard. As we began our trek, I noticed an awesome mist hovering over the snow, and since we hadn’t left the yard yet, we turned back to get my camera.

We were walking in snow that had not been disturbed, so it was quite soft and difficult, even with snowshoes. In fact, in the hour that we were out, we only managed to travel about .3 miles. Nonetheless, we had fun, and the dogs certainly enjoyed themselves. Greta loves the snow. It’s quite possibly her favorite thing all year round. When the snow accumulates, she become giddy like a puppy. She also likes to pretend she’s a wild dog by sticking her face into the snow as if to hunt mice running around beneath. Shadow also enjoys the snow. While she doesn’t quite act like a puppy, her favorite thing to do is roll around in it. It’s the first thing she’ll do, especially when we encounter summer snow patches in the high elevation.

Shadow shows off her beard of snow.
Shadow shows off her beard of snow.
Wild dogs, such as coyotes and foxes, are able to hunt even when the snow is six feet deep. Greta likes to pretend she is a wild dog.
Wild dogs, such as coyotes and foxes, are able to hunt even when the snow is six feet deep. Greta likes to pretend she is a wild dog.

By the end of our little walk, the sun had set and the mist had accumulated at the bottom of our neighbor’s field making a really neat scene. See some more photos from our walk below. Tomorrow, I think I’ll take the snowshoes out and explore some of the forest trails nearby.

The mist on the snow had accumulated at the bottom of our neighbor's field.
The mist on the snow had accumulated at the bottom of our neighbor’s field.

Similar Posts

  • Snowshoeing Moose Creek

    Last week, winter returned to the Palouse. We got about six inches of snow in Deary, most of which was still around over the weekend. On Sunday, I joined a group of students and post-docs for a snowshoeing trip to Moose Creek. Although it was a foggy and overcast day, we had a great time. I’m always amazed at how much more snow Moose Creek gets, despite its close proximity to home. I estimate the snow was about a foot deep, which is plenty for snowshoeing. We ended up hiking just under 2 miles in before turning around and heading…

  • |

    Small hikes near Moscow

    The end of the semester is a busy time, and that often means foregoing larger adventures for some smaller ones closer to home. In the last week, I’ve been trying to keep active and take advantage of the local trails. One of these trails is the Headwaters trail on the western end of Moscow Mountain. In my five years here, I’ve never hiked this trail despite its close proximity and popularity among hikers, runners, and mountain bikers. Yet when all of my friends say they were on Moscow Mountain, they almost always mean the Headwaters trail. Headwaters is a 5…

  • Freezeout

    The heatwave has hit the northwest. Today’s temperatures on the Palouse rose into the high 90’s, and tomorrow it may break 100. I wanted to hike so I can get in shape for backpacking next month, so I thought I’d take the dogs up to Freezeout Saddle and hike to Grandmother Mountain. But when I got up there, it was also hot and somewhat muggy, so we didn’t make it very far. I brought the camera, but got no pictures on this trip. The summer wildflowers are starting to bloom: beargrass was in its early stages, and the lupine had…

  • |

    Potlatch River

    Potlatch River, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer. There is a Forest Service hiking trail about 3 miles due north of our house, though it’s about 7 miles to drive there. Still, it’s close for those after-work getaways. The trail is a ~5mi. loop along the Potlatch River that takes you along the river and then up to the “rim” of the canyon. The first half mile or so is paved, but it then becomes a regular old trail through the woods. There are interpretive markers along the entire length. I have been down on the trail several times, but yesterday…

  • Steptoe Butte and the Palouse

    When I moved to the Palouse, I didn’t realize just how photogenic the landscape was. Then I saw ads for the Palouse in Popular Photography. It turns out, people will pay good money to come and photograph the region, and here I am living there not taking advantage of my home turf. I’ve only been on Steptoe Butte once before, and it was in the winter with not much snow on the ground. So I was quite glad when Simon came back to visit and suggested we go out and shoot the Palouse. We hit Steptoe Butte at the right time…

  • |

    Aurora

      This story begins Friday night when I learned that a large coronal mass ejection (CME) sent a burst of solar radiation from the sun headed toward Earth. It was predicted to intercept our atmosphere on the evening of the 8th, producing auroral activity in the high latitudes. Given the size of this solar storm, as described by spaceweather.com, I was a bit suspicious that the auroras migh be big enough to see all the way down here in northern Idaho. So, I kept a watch looking for evidence of such activity. On the evening of the 8th, I checked…