Snow & ice

Snow & Ice

I have driven in bad weather up and down the east coast. Blizzard in Connecticut and upstate New York. 20 inch snowfall in the Carolinas. Hurricane blasts in Louisiana. Tornadoes in Virginia and Texas.

I’ve hiked trails in electrical storms. Trekked canyons in deep ice. Rounded a North Face in blustery wind. Adventured in the dark pre-sunrise.

Now I am not an adventurer or thrill seeker. I don’t go looking for dangerous hikes. My wife would kill me if I did that – and I am more afraid of her than the weather. But I do often hike alone. I do go into uncharted areas without thinking. I don’t think it is as much bravado as it is lack of forethought (or the S word – stupidity!)

For three days now, my wife has been trapped indoors with me. I pity her. We haven’t lost power, to which I am grateful for our back-up heat source – our propane tank to our gas logs. Due to uncontrollable circumstances, the line has developed a leak. DANGER WILL ROBINSON. Also, it is placed too close to the HVAC, apparently a new code. So I can’t turn it on and I can’t expect it to help in a power outage. So, I thank God the power has remained on.

SNOW & ICE

Danger … yet also heightening of our caution to learn.

SNOW & ICE

Danger … yet also beauty. I have sat in the safety of my domicile and perused photos of the splendor of nature itself.

On day one, I walked around in the snow. It was powdery and I felt no qualms. I even walked the Evergreen trail and felt the contentment in the isolation of one with trees, creeks, deer tracks, and the sound of wind through the empty branches.

On day two, I ventured the short distance to the church adjacent to where I abide. The snow had frozen over. However it was not too frozen that my trekking poles couldn’t do their job to keep me upright. 

I then took time to shovel my sidewalk – less powder removal, more ice chunks a chucking. (Say that three times real fast)

On day three, the ice was even harder. My trekking poles were almost worthless to poking holes in the sheet. A tundra in Evergreen.

But here is a lesson I share …

As I walked over the frozen tundra of the church’s parking lot, I stepped in the footprints I left two days prior. It gave me a better stability, a point less likely to slip or slide. My trekking poles were poked in the holes left behind by the holes poked prior. (again, say that three times real fast!)

There is something about feeling safe, something about the security of knowing someone passed this way before and left signs, even aids for us to pass the same way now.

This is more than walking on ice. This is life. When I was a new parent, I reached out those that had gone through those events and want to share from their experiences. 

Today – give thanks to those who have left their mark.

Today – make sure you are leaving healthy marks for those that see your legacy later.

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Final Thoughts …

Some photos I want to share …