April 16, 2017 – The weather has just been atrocious so far this spring. March was officially the gloomiest on record with only three days free of rain, and April hasn’t fared much better so far. Honestly, I don’t mind the rain, but it’s just been a bit much this year so far. It reminds me of when I first moved here from up north; I found winter about the most depressing thing ever down here, yet I’d grown up as an absolute lover of winter.
The difference?
Winter up north includes cold and snow, yes….but it also has a much greater number of days with crystal blue skies and sunlight that glitters on all that cold crisp snow.
It took me years down here to not only come to grips with the rain that often seems to last from October to May, but to embrace it as a component of the environment I love so much about the Pacific Northwest.
Yesterday started with a monsoon, but the sun did come out later in the afternoon and it was heartening to see everything steaming in the warmth.
Today, Easter Sunday, was supposed to be the better day of the weekend, and although the rain held off, it was overcast and the hoped-for blue skies didn’t materialize.
Regardless, the lack of rain was worth getting out of the house for and Kirk threw the new snowshoes in the truck and we headed up the hill.
We figured the hill would either be crawling with people on a dry Easter Sunday, or it would be quiet as everyone attended Church and/or family events. It turned out to be the latter and that made it a calm and peaceful walk through the snowy trails. As we came back down the hill the people seemed to be arriving, so we timed it out well.
We haven’t been snowshoeing in many, many years. The last time we can remember was probably shortly after we moved to Vancouver and went home for Christmas one year; we snowshoed into the cabin before Dad sold it. That was probably back in the early 1990’s, so it was fun to be back on them again.
The view from up Grouse Mountain just can’t be dismissed. This is a five minute drive, a six minute gondola ride, and a 20 minute snowshoe from our front door.
Here is pretty good.
Good exercise, fresh air, and a spectacular view, even without the blue sky.
It was a brisk 4C this morning when we got up, and it was 2C at the top of the mountain. But the exercise warmed us up and by the time we came back down it was 13C and suitable for sitting in the yard for a bit with a beer.
117 Photos in 2017: 46. Off the Beaten Track
7 comments
Cool and nice view!!
Happy Easter Sunday!