pete_hickey
11-14-2005, 11:52 AM
Almost. Sort of.... The dog, along with three humans left the trailhead in the dark. It was cold that morning, with a light layer of fluffy snow covering the ground..... and the trees. This light fluffy snow in the trees would play a big part. The weather was supposed to be sunny and warm. I was hoping for an good strong early morning wind to blow it from the branches, but no such luck.
One of the humans--who would be a dog if she could, but she CANT--doesn't like mud. While not as bad as the Bradley Pond trail, the Sewards area can be rather muddy, nevertheless.
This snow, was very mystical and magical. Very yin-yang. Its beauty as it sparkled in the sun, hid the evil it would thrust upon us. And thrust it did, in a number of ways.
The dog is a capable hiker, but he is a big dog. Larger than some of the humans. The dog had a hard time squeezing through some sections of blowdown.
Again the yin-yang comes up. The dog was white. The mud was black. Need I say more?
The dog also had some problems with his feet on some sharp ice. On the summit of Donaldson, just before descending a steep rock face, the dog told us that he wanted to go back down. He chose a human to go with him, leaving only two to face the evil, yet beautiful snow.
Divide and conquer. A well known ploy.
So what of the yin and yang of this beautiful yet horrible snow, on a beautiful sunny, yet rainy day? I do believe that the snow was in cahoots with the mud. Snow and mud, water and earth.
You see, the snow knew that one of the humans did not like mud. She was tricked by the beauty of the snow (and you thought only GUYS could get tricked by beauty?) You see, this beautiful snow hid the mud. One footstep in the wrong place in the beautiful snow, and SLOOOOUUULLLPPP. In the mud. But the snow did more with its subtle planning on leading us deeper and deeper into the mud.
While unintentionally finding the mud areas slowed us down somewhat, the snow in the branches, melting in the bright sunlight dripped on us like a steady heavy rain. Raining on a beautiful day. More yin-yang. It was most certainly a philosophical day.
Now, the subtle genius of the evil snow came through. You see, the snow slowing the dog, the snow slowing the humans, the snow, wetting the humans to slow them, all added to being behind schedule. Even with deciding to leave Seward for another day, we would still finish in the dark. And why was this, the final evil coup of the snow?
You see, once it is dark, it is very hard to tell if you are stepping on solid ground or mud. So, as if to humiliate those two remaining hikers, they hiked back in the dark, finding more and more mud. She who does not like mud, was not amused. (In spite of the fact that the only photo of her from that day shows her with a big smile)
However, a yin-yang day is not all bad. There were beautiful views on the summits, and a shower to wash the mud back into the earth from whence it came. The shower was water, which is nothing more than warm snow. Water and earth.
Yes, the day was filled with symbols.
One of the humans--who would be a dog if she could, but she CANT--doesn't like mud. While not as bad as the Bradley Pond trail, the Sewards area can be rather muddy, nevertheless.
This snow, was very mystical and magical. Very yin-yang. Its beauty as it sparkled in the sun, hid the evil it would thrust upon us. And thrust it did, in a number of ways.
The dog is a capable hiker, but he is a big dog. Larger than some of the humans. The dog had a hard time squeezing through some sections of blowdown.
Again the yin-yang comes up. The dog was white. The mud was black. Need I say more?
The dog also had some problems with his feet on some sharp ice. On the summit of Donaldson, just before descending a steep rock face, the dog told us that he wanted to go back down. He chose a human to go with him, leaving only two to face the evil, yet beautiful snow.
Divide and conquer. A well known ploy.
So what of the yin and yang of this beautiful yet horrible snow, on a beautiful sunny, yet rainy day? I do believe that the snow was in cahoots with the mud. Snow and mud, water and earth.
You see, the snow knew that one of the humans did not like mud. She was tricked by the beauty of the snow (and you thought only GUYS could get tricked by beauty?) You see, this beautiful snow hid the mud. One footstep in the wrong place in the beautiful snow, and SLOOOOUUULLLPPP. In the mud. But the snow did more with its subtle planning on leading us deeper and deeper into the mud.
While unintentionally finding the mud areas slowed us down somewhat, the snow in the branches, melting in the bright sunlight dripped on us like a steady heavy rain. Raining on a beautiful day. More yin-yang. It was most certainly a philosophical day.
Now, the subtle genius of the evil snow came through. You see, the snow slowing the dog, the snow slowing the humans, the snow, wetting the humans to slow them, all added to being behind schedule. Even with deciding to leave Seward for another day, we would still finish in the dark. And why was this, the final evil coup of the snow?
You see, once it is dark, it is very hard to tell if you are stepping on solid ground or mud. So, as if to humiliate those two remaining hikers, they hiked back in the dark, finding more and more mud. She who does not like mud, was not amused. (In spite of the fact that the only photo of her from that day shows her with a big smile)
However, a yin-yang day is not all bad. There were beautiful views on the summits, and a shower to wash the mud back into the earth from whence it came. The shower was water, which is nothing more than warm snow. Water and earth.
Yes, the day was filled with symbols.