Much better today!

Whew!

I got out with Ann and Sheila – drove up to the halfway point in Ann’s jeep to the upper Butter trail. Nice – the bottom part is a bit boring. The point of all this was to get to the end of the new trail extension. We strapped our snowshoes to our packs and headed up. I was surprised to see how much elevation there was past the upper parking lot – but quite a bit. It took us about three hours to get to the very end and the final parking lot for the mountain bikers. The trail has been beautifully engineered and is accessible for all. Very nice. The larches were beautiful and even though the sun didn’t come out and even thought it was pretty darn cold up there (water bottles froze), it was a good day. We were out for more than 5 hours on trails and darn it all – it was just good to get out there.

I think I’ve figured out some things for me and winter. Truly, coast winters aren’t huge fun either. In fact, really damp days can feel much colder than cold days here. My point is that I can’t walk out my door and just walk. I really think I could do the Kootenays if only I had that freedom.

I realized that if I left, I would desperately miss the alpine here and the wonderful people I’ve met.

So – with that in mind, we shall see what transpires next.

In the meantime, I had an idea for a short story today (which I shall write tomorrow) that has me very excited. Also in the meantime, Simon is doing everything in his power to make sure that we are warm and cozy – and he is succeeding magnificently. I feel loved and cared for.

Sometimes I don’t realize how lucky I am.

Tomorrow is a writing day – and the next day we’re snowshoeing at Whitewater.

Wonderful!