Snow, Silence, Solitude

We had two small snow storms yesterday and the day before.  And it was supposed to get warm again today.  The last storm was kind of slushy.  I hoped to get some snow hiking in this morning.  Got going early so that it wouldn't be in slush and mud.

At 8:10 AM I was at the trail head.  It was 17 degrees.  No worry about melting here.  There were no cars in the parking lot.  There were only a few tracks in the snow heading up the trail.  After 3/4 of a mile of hiking the tracks went in a different direction than I was going.  I was hiking in fresh snow.

It was a bright, sunny day that was warming up quickly.  I was shedding various layers that I had on in the beginning to keep warm.  The sun shining on the snow made it look like a blanket of diamonds.  These pictures do not do it justice.

Alone on the mountain with my thoughts and my mantra reveling in the quiet and solitude.