Hatcher's Pass

After a somewhat restless night of sleep, I woke up in the mood to get out of the house, to do something.  It was cold this morning, about -10 F when I went out to plug in our truck, and the snow crunched under my feet loudly.  We had a leisurely morning around the house, in which fruit/veggie smoothies and scrambled eggs and spicy breakfast sausage were involved.

Around eleven we finally hit the road, after loading our cold weather gear and skis in the truck.  It takes about 25 minutes from our house to get to the parking lot for the Government Peak Recreation Area, and with the clear blue sky and brilliant sun (which hides behind the mountain at our house during the darkest winter months) it was a beautiful drive.  I drove out that way this summer, where the woman lived who I bought Riggs' wood high chair from, so I had a general idea of where we were going.  I love car trips with Steve, because we always manage to have some really good conversations.  But driving up the winding road that led to the parking lot, Steve and I were both quiet in anticipation.  

We weren't disappointed by what we found at the end of the road, and I was almost giddy with excitement as I put on my skis and poles and headed out onto the new trails.  There are three trails at this point, including a multi-use trail for skijoring and snow-biking.  The snow was fast and I was probably only the second or third person to hit the trail since it had been groomed...pure bliss.  I could have stayed there all day, exploring each loop, but I got back in the car after a quick 30 minute ski and we headed up to see how much it had snowed up at the Hatcher's Pass Lodge area.  It was beautiful up there, and there were a few backcountry skiers enjoying the sun and fresh snow (some backcountry dogs as well :).  What a perfect way to spend a Friday!