Merry Christmas

After an early breakfast, we skied from the back door, heading up-valley at a relaxed pace.   Stopping for photos and chatting, but wary of tree-bombs from the heavily laden pines and cottonwoods along the trail; the trees are dropping snow and branches today.

The Methow River is just a trickle at this time of year, and sometimes there is no surface water at all.    This year there is noticeable flow; it makes a pretty backdrop with the snow.     The ski trails pass by the North Cascades Basecamp, which was taken over by Steve and Kim Bondi this past autumn – they’re doing a great job there.    From the Basecamp, the trail crosses the river, and offers long kilometers of trails in the narrow valley near the confluence of the Lost River and the Methow.

We skied for 2 hours and looped back to the house.   Back at home this afternoon, there’s time to relax and get started on a book.    Some phone calls with family and friends.      There’s not as much to do when you live in a quiet, snowy, rural mountain area, but it takes longer to get anything done.   So it works out well.