The last hike of the year

tonym

tonym

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Mar 18, 2008
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As I was walking my dog yesterday I bumped into a neighbor of mine who always asks me to take him hiking. Being from NYC, he really never got out into nature. He always asks allot of questions and really shows an interest in learning more about the outdoors and outdoors activities. I took him out on Tuesday which was a horrible day for hiking, but he toughed it out through the biting 25mph winds which made the air temp feel like 8F. He found out how much fun it was to get a fire going in those conditions with no accelerants and just a ferro rod. He had his little LMF scout firesteel, and after a bunch of failed attempts and numbing hands, I gave him my 4" ferro rod. He was able use it with gloves on and got the birch bark to take flame after 3 tries.
The heavy gusting wind was snapping frozen branches all over the forest, making him very nervous. I was a lil nervous as well, but didn't let him know of course. Anyway, by the end of that trip, I figured he would probably never want to go hiking again, which is not what I wanted. However to my surprise and delight he asked if he could tag along on another hike sometime. I let him know, I was planning on heading out with a buddy(Marcelo) in 20 minutes. He was more then up for it.

This outing was allot more pleasant. With temps at 30F, no wind, and a steady flakey snow falling it made the forest a beautiful place to be.

The new snow did cover up a few dangers as you will see in the photos. Allot of the trails flooded and froze a few days ago. The snow covered the frozen areas up making walking very interesting. I am proud to say that I did not fall and very much enjoyed laughing at the other two...

Anyway, here are the pics, thanks for looking.



















 
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You guys are way braver and tougher than me:thumbup: The only time I hike in the snow is when the truck is stuck and the whisky's run out:D I bet that fire was nice, though!
 
Thanks for posting them. Please be sure and add some to the pictures sticky up top so they don't get buried! Now, I need to turn up my heater! That made me cold just looking at them! And .... what is all that white stuff? :D

Codger in SW Tennessee (no snow here yet)
 
Looks like your neighbout had a good time. Its been ages since ive last hiked in the snow, your pics reminded me of it.

Thanks for taking the time to post them.
 
Very cool! I've been kind of hoping for some snow here. I like short hikes in it. Makes a fire all the more fantastic. I bet yours reflected nicely off the rock face.
 
Looks like an awesome hike, Tony. My kind of weather! That's a great spot to start a fire.

Thanks for sharing, and all the best,

- Mike
 
Ahh yes I love hiking in heavy snow. I had my last hike of the year all the way to the top of MT. Baldy here in CA.
 
Thanks guys, I love hiking in the snow. With the nasty temps in the the low teens we've been having, 30 degrees felt GREAT!:D

mymindisamob said:
Very cool! I've been kind of hoping for some snow here. I like short hikes in it. Makes a fire all the more fantastic. I bet yours reflected nicely off the rock face.
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Yes it did, and we didn't really build it up much. If we burned harder wood like oak, maple, or Birch it would have been a very good warming fire.:thumbup:






OH and I forgot. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!
 
Looks like some fun boys...sure wish I was there. I went out today with Wes, had a good hike, tracking some interesting animals. Snow makes for a good little hike, doesnt it?! ;)
 
Great stuff Tony!

My favorite times to hike are when the snow falls on low wind days, and right after rain storms or during light drizzles too!

In Alaska, snow falling usually meant the temperature was great for a hike or outdoor play!:thumbup:
 
It looked like that a few days ago here. Slight amounts of rain yesterday made a lot of the snow go away, but the ground is still covered, but just barely :thumbup:
 
Nice pictures and good on you for taking the time to help introduce another to the woods.

BTW, what is that white stuff? :confused: :mad:

GP
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Nice pictures and good on you for taking the time to help introduce another to the woods.

BTW, what is that white stuff? :confused: :mad:

GP
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Wow, you still don't have any snow up there yet:eek: That is just plain sad, oh well, still plenty of winter left:thumbup:
 
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