This was planned as an overnighter, but I decided to make it a dayhike after I got a bit dehydrated and the temperature dropped to the low teens. Like many of my solo hikes and most of my videos it was more educational than entertaining, but still worth the trip (a grueling 40 minute drive from home).
My equipment performed well. I keep waiting for the aluminum flashing underplate of my pulk to snag and tear, but groovy as it is, it still does the job. The cut-down skis it rides on work great, and the pulk bag will no doubt ride on all future pulks. I didn't expect to find flowing water on this trail, but was pleasantly surprised to find it paralleled a pretty little creek for a ways. It's an area I will go back to this summer for the shade of the hemlocks and the rhododendron bloom. Because the water source was not expected, I carried 4 liters in my Aarn day pack. I'd expected to bury two of them in the snow and keep the other two in the sock-tent with me. They were tucked down in my pack so they wouldn't freeze (a mistake), so it was "too much trouble" to stop and dig one out to take a drink when I was breathing out all that moisture. About the time I realized that I had passed the best camping spot, I had already started putting layers on again, and the wind picked up. It became uncomfortable to take my gloves off to tighten my snowshoe bindings. The trail back to the best campsite was uphill, so I knew I'd arrive warm and possibly damp. It seemed a better idea to head home instead. (I still feel like a wimp, albeit a smart wimp.)
An Ultrapod has replaced the Gorillapod that used to ride nicely counter-balanced on my trekking pole. It sat on my pulk and produced a nice trail sequence that mysteriously disappeared when I uploaded the other shots to the computer. In the last shot you'll see how a loosely strapped camera yields to the law of gravity. I made no attempt to edit these three short clips. And there's no music.
http://s1064.beta.photobucket.com/us...-2013.mp4.html
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