Sometimes Matt & I use our Friday's off to do absolutely nothing. Other times we have big plans and have to get a strong start to the day to get them accomplished in the time the boys are at daycare. Today was one of those big plan days!
We dropped the boys off, had a hearty breakfast and hit the road to head down to the Kenai. We were going on a hike in the woods - woo!
It was an absolutely gorgeous Alaskan spring day. Sure, there was still some snow on the ground, but look at that sunshine! Look at the greenery!
Ok yes, those might be the evergreens showing off their colors, but they are still green & pretty. After a dreary winter, I am not picky about the source of spring colors!
The Alders are still pretty bare, so there wasn't much color in this shot to begin with. I thought the lines of the branches looked cool growing up toward the sky. In case the angle is confusing, I am sitting on the ground just below the hill top. We hiked up the first hill before realizing that the snow was much softer than we were expecting, so Matt went back to get the snowshoes from the car.
Starting the trudge uphill through the snow. In the summer, this is a field of Alders, but the weight of the snow over the winter weighs them all down until it looks like a field of snow. In some places, like this photo, you can see them randomly starting to poke out of the snow, but in other spots it was just snow everywhere.
But in either case - it sucked. Our snowshoes kept crashing through what looked like solid snow and then hanging up on the Alder branches buried below. It was extremely tough going. I full-on face planted at least once or twice. Matt was having an even tougher time because his snow shoes are right on the edge of being too small when he has a pack on. Who knew they were so weight sensitive?
I would take one step and the snow wouldn't budge more than a half inch and the next step would be down over a foot. It was so easy to lose your balance with such uneven footing and if you did snag a branch, you were definitely going down because your snowshoe was stuck behind you.
My hands got cold at one point, so I stuck them in my jacket to warm up. It took me a few minutes to realize my hands were getting colder because my pockets were full of snow from one of the many falls.
But hey - at least it was a pretty day! And I was still getting to hang out with my favorite hiking buddy! :)
See that pretty field of pure snow?
Lies! All lies!
What lies beneath?
Tripping hazards!
I didn't get any photos of Matt crashing to the ground, because I couldn't exactly hike around with the camera up to my face when I was having trouble staying upright myself. But you can see how far down his foot went on this spot. He definitely did not stay upright.
If you know the schematic for types of fun - this was definitely veering into Type 2 fun.
But nature has a way of redeeming herself even when you are convinced she is trying to break your ankles. The snow seemed like a thick structureless blanket from the top, but then we happened upon this tree and you can clearly see the layers from multiple snow falls. It's almost like looking at an outcrop of snow!
This jagged stump proudly sticking up out of the ground had the most monotone gray exterior, but when I came around the other side it was full of rich browns of the bark and greens from the moss. It was way more beautiful than you would have guessed a stump would be.
Tree stumps in our yard - you are doing it wrong!
We finally reached our destination - the hunting site! Matt and Sam had a hunting spot last year and they registered it again this year. Apparently you have to post a sign after you register it and Sam was out of town the first day you could register the spot. So I got to be the tag along for the sign posting. I was pretty excited to see where Matt had spent so much time last year!
Matt pointed out where their tree stands were last year and where they were planning to put their ground blind this year. Then he told me where the Momma Grizzly and her cubs walked through last year (right under their stands!) and I was concerned about his "lay on the ground" plan. I will assume the two of them know what they are doing.
And maybe check that his life insurance is up to date.
I kid, I kid...
I already know it is. ;)
After a nice break in the solid ground of the woods we had to head back down again. Somehow - the snow actually got worse! I only took one or two photos before I gave up on the camera and focused instead on making it down the hill without breaking any bones. Definitely type 2 fun.
Which means it was a great day in hindsight! And I can't believe spring it already here - soon the flowers will be blooming and it will be sunny all day long. Can't wait! :)