Wow.
So much sunshine. And snow. Perfect winter days.
There’s winter weather I love and winter weather, I hate. For the past two months, it’s been a solid, hateful grey. We’ve had no bright snow and almost no sunshine. It’s not just me making this up. According to the weather people, it’s been the cloudiest January in more than a decade. Between the bad weather and my fear of falling on the ice, I haven’t been doing very many fun outdoor winter things. I’ve been enduring, not enjoying, winter.
But then this weekend, the weekend we’d booked ages ago to drive north and visit my youngest adult child at the resort where he’s been working was stunning. It was absolutely glorious. Bright white snow, brilliant sun, blue skies, and temperatures hovering right around freezing. It’s the kind of weather that can coax even the most anti-winter person to get outside and play. I’ve been craving this.
We spent the day hiking and cross-country skiing in Algonquin Park.
First, the Beaver Trail.
We decided to take a short cut across the lake. But we weren’t wearing snow shoes and the snow was deep. We kept crunching through the snow, and it was very unstable. I was very much regretting leaving snow shoes in the car trunk. I haven’t fallen since knee replacement surgery, and frankly, the whole idea of falling makes me very nervous. I’m a long way from my Aikido days.
The bad news is that I did fall. Slowly and gracefully and gently into the very deep snow. The good news is that it was just fine. I laughed. We all laughed. My kid rescued me. I’m feeling a bit better about falling now.
It was a tough hike for me. Icy steps and lots of hills, but it was lovely to have family to help.
Second, Miles had to work in the late afternoon, and so Sarah and I decided to give cross country skiing a go, taking advantage of the longer days. I hadn’t been in years. I used to cross country ski up here for full days, taking advantage of the little cabins in the park they have to warm up and eat lunch. My knees hurt too much for a few years before surgery, and after I’ve been recovering and there’s a definite lack of snow in Southern Ontario this year.
We set out to the Leaf Lake Trail, strapped on our skis, and set out. I was terrified. Me and my new knees don’t like the wobbly feeling that comes with skis. I could feel every muscle in my leg tense up. I considered taking them off immediately. I didn’t want to get on to a one-way loop trail that was 5 km long. What if I just couldn’t do it? There’s no way to come back.
Sarah suggested we just start out on the two way section that connects the trails. And we did. I made it. Even though that’s all I did, I’m counting this as a victory. I’ll be back! Fear number two faced.
Today, it’s Sunday, and we’re heading home. Also, the grey is back. We really appreciated the sunshine. There’s also some beauty in the grey and whites of winter.
