Longmire In Winter

Day 61: There was no heat in our office when Kevin and I got to work this morning. Other offices in the Administration Building were warm and toasty, but ours was uncomfortably cold and stayed that way until lunchtime. I decided it was better to freeze outside than inside, and went for a walk around the Trail of the Shadows. This view of Eagle Peak across Longmire Meadow is one of my favourites. Tiny Travertine Mound hotspring (snow-free area, lower right) burbles and bubbles even in the coldest temperatures.

The blue sky was a momentary novelty. Even as I wound my way around the three-quarter mile trail, pale grey snow-clouds were creeping up from the west. Still, slender rays of sun touched laden branches and caused them to release their burdens precipitously, and at least once, I found myself enveloped in the cold pins-and-needles of spindrift, driven on icy gusts generated in its fall. Thus baptised, I returned to the office with snow-matted pantlegs and a silvery "powdered-sugar" dusting over my remaining person, grateful that the radiator had repented of its uncooperative nature.

Eagle Peak

Day 170: This one's for my friends in Flatland. Eagle Peak's summit is roughly a mile and a half as the crow flies from Longmire, and 3000' above it. A 3.7 mile trail to the saddle between Eagle and Chutla is maintained, but the more adventuresome hiker may wish to scramble the last 400' to the summit over rough rock and one ledge. I've done it many times despite being a little too short for some of the stretches, especially on the descent. That said, Eagle is but a foothill, a bump in the terrain compared to 14,410' Mount Rainier only a few more miles away. Anybody want to take a lunchtime lichen walk with me?

Eagle Rising

Day 106: It was a lovely day to go out for a walk, better than one has a right to expect in January. There are only a few inches of snow on the ground at Longmire, although the last storm dumped an amazing 33" of new snow at Paradise over one night, following 15" on the previous night. Last weekend's blustery and cold weather brought the total to 115" on the ground. That still leaves Mount Rainier substantially behind for the year, particularly at the lower elevations.

But for all the shortage of the white stuff, snow artists are in more plentiful supply this winter. Snowmen and other snow sculptures seem to be springing up in a wide variety of places: the Longmire compound, out along the campground road, even atop two picnic tables at Kautz Creek trailhead. What instinct has spawned this sudden upsurge of creativity? Is it the scarcity of the medium? I can't say, but it does give me a chuckle.

Nose-and-Eyelashes Snow

Day 99: It's not uncommon to see groups of Parkies walking the campground loop at Longmire on their lunch hours in all sorts of weather. After all, we're an exercise-oriented lot. However, now that the winter Fitness Challenge is on, neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail will keep rangers from their appointed rounds. Each one of us who is participating in the Challenge is committed to chalk up the aerobic equivalent of 100 miles between January 7 and March 30, competing against other parks in the region. Some people participate as individuals, while others form teams of no more than eleven. A team must contribute at least 1200 miles to qualify. I joined the Wanderers, the Interpretive Division team.

Today, one of my colleagues (a fellow Wanderer) suggested a walk to the back gate, never mind that it was snowing. It was a delightful fall..."snowflakes that stay on your nose and eyelashes" snow; soft, tickly snow, a drier snow than the usual Pacific Northwest slop, and it kept up steadily until we were back inside the building, resuming our daily tasks. We walked three miles, Kristyn and I, laughing and chatting while keeping up a good aerobic pace, following the footsteps of some other walker determined to get their mileage for the day. Exercise done in good company puts the lie to "no pain, no gain," and almost seems like it shouldn't count.