When the cold weather arrives, I often decide that it is time for me to go cuddle up inside with a cozy blanket and my dog. Yet over this past winter break, I was given the opportunity to get outside and do something I normally only do in warm weather. I was invited to go on a winter hike for the day. As an avid hiker I was very excited, but my only experience hiking in the winter was walking my dog along walking trails, no real summits or elevation gains like I would hike in warmer weather. In the summer I’m dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, and my biggest concern is trying to make sure I’m hydrated and not overheating while hiking. While hiking in the winter it became clear to me that it is a lot different than what I am used to.
I started preparing the night before my hike.
I packed a bag with water, my headlamp, some granola bars, and two pairs of gloves. I wore my normal hiking boots with two pairs of wool socks, fleece leggings and another layer of pants on top of that, two jackets, and an underlayer of a fleece quarter zip. I had an extra pair of clothes in the car just in case.
That morning, I was set to leave my house at 6:00 am before the sun had finished rising. Being a new winter hiker, I wasn’t sure what I was about to endure. I checked the weather app before I left and it read 18 degrees. As I met my friends at the trailhead, my nerves began to rise.
What started out as a day of hiking one peak that was only 3 miles turned into a 5 peak day that was 12 miles in total.
We started out at Bear Mountain in Salisbury, Connecticut, and ended up hiking part of the Taconic range summitting peaks in Massachusetts and New York as well. In the past I’ve hiked part of this loop, it’s not too hard, but hiking it in a different climate definitely opened my eyes. There was a good increase in elevation and some points where I relied heavily on my hiking poles for stability. Going up to the peaks proved to be relatively easy, making sure to watch my footing. As we hiked closer to the peaks and the elevation began to increase so did the conditions. A layer of snow sat on the trail, making our lives a bit harder. It was slippery and hard to tell where to put your feet, especially on the downhill.
My friends and I ended up using the snow to our advantage.
We would sit down and slide down using the snow as a slide. This proved to be an effective way to conquer the downhills without injuring ourselves. There were times when I found myself grabbing onto trees for stability and jamming my hiking poles into the trail in front of me so I wouldn’t fall on my face. When the sun started to set, we quickly made our way back to the trailhead. Our face masks were frozen to our faces, and our eyelashes and eyebrows were crystallized. My legs were aching, and my body was freezing, but the hike was well worth the pain and the cold. When we arrived at the five summits, we felt free. The cold air brushed along our faces; the snow crunched below our feet. We looked past the trees and saw the beautiful views, covered in snow below blue skies.