I went on a hike around the Dogwood trail this morning. It was cold, blustery, and snowy, but overall pleasant once I warmed up. The ground was a layer of compacted snow with an inch or so of light, fluffy snow on top. Sometimes the compacted snow was slippery or would crunch down, so I put on Yaxtrax, after which I had plenty of traction. I was wearing walking shoes since my boots are still out of commission, but they have thick soles, so I didn’t have too much issue with snow soaking them or freezing feet.
I only encountered two other people on the Dogwood, though I saw a few others on an adjacent trail and saw a number of cars go by on Sand Run Parkway. One of the people on the Dogwood was cross-country skiing.
The walk was mostly quiet other than the wind. The snow looked nice when it was falling and the sun peaked out sometimes. There was the glint of ice on some of the branches. I heard some birds but didn’t really see them.
By the end of the hike I was actually feeling kind of hot. It was a good bit of exercise and deserved a warm tea and then a lunch out at Papa Gyros afterward.