Breaking Trail at Kurmes Paradise Creek Preserve

 Friday, January 5, 2021

Hi Blog!

We woke up this morning to more snow! We've been pretty good about cleaning off the driveway before going out to play, but today we decided to just give up. The snow will still be there when we get back. The flurries were still flying when we reached the trailhead to the Kurmes Paradise Creek Preserve, near Mt. Pocono, Pennsylvania and Tobyhanna, where we are staying this winter. The parking lot had not been plowed since the weekend's three foot snow dump. Lucky for us, the plow truck did plow the shoulder of Devil's Hole Road just wide enough that we could park off the street. 

We were excited to see that the trail was unbroken. We would get to make first tracks!

We haven't seen this much snow since snowshoeing the mountains around Prescott, Arizona. Even with snowshoes on, we sank deep in the powder.

As we made our way down the trail toward the creek, the fir trees and rhododendron bent toward us inviting us to brush them as we passed.

However, not all the rhododendrons were as welcoming. This fellow shouted, "YOU SHALL NOT PASS." Dave ignored the warning and plowed right through. Below, you can see Kathy carefully ducking under the burdened branches.

There are two small springs that make their way down to the creek. We were not sure if we would even be able to see them with all the snow. However, the warm spring water was able to make an appearance.

Being able to see the spring made it easy to find the narrow log bridge.

Once we made it down to the creek, we stopped to drink our hot tea and eat our Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! We've hiked this trail 4 or 5 times since moving into the rental cottage. It never disappoints.

We always enjoy the views of Tank Creek as we hike along the bottom of the trail.

Just look at all the beautiful fluff!

Just as we were leaving the creek, the clouds began to thin and soft sunlight began to peek through the trees.

As we turned away from the creek and began heading uphill toward the parking lot, Dave noticed an unusual formation in the snow - a snowball! There was no evidence that anyone made the snowball. In fact, it looked totally nature-made. It appears that a clump of snow fell from the tree and then rolled down the drift at the base of the tree. Mother Nature must like playing in the snow as much as we do.

With just a quarter mile left to go, blue skies and bright sun traveled with us. This was both a blessing and a curse:  a blessing because the sunlight sparkled off the snow, making a beautiful outing even more beautiful; the curse part, or should I say cursing part, was when the sun melted the snow in the trees and large cold, wet, slushy drops began to fall down the necks of our coats!

As we crossed the parking lot, we looked back on our track. Two miles and more of breaking trail in three feet of snow was exhausting. But, the warm fuzzies of being outside in the fresh air, all by ourselves with only nature's beauty to keep us company made it all worth while. 

As we kicked off our snowshoes, we noticed the largest ice balls we've ever had stuck to the bottoms of our cleats. The snow was so deep, we didn't notice until we left the trail. 

Now that the blog is done, it's time to shovel the driveway -- yet again! After that, it's beer o'clock!

Stay thirsty, my friends.