From The Heights. #47 From The Past.

Good morning everyone! It is another one of those gray, cloudy days, but mild again. The temperatures lately have been amazing for December, very mild for us. The one concerning thing is the lack of snow. We do have a little snow, perhaps about 2 inches (5cm) or so, but it will be above freezing again today so more of it might melt. 

I remember one year that was similar to this one, there was only a couple inches of snow that December, with some areas, especially hillsides, having no snow at all. Krissy was off school for the Christmas break and wanted to go on a winter hike. Well, it was kind of a winter hike, just without the snow, but it was somewhat cold at -4F (-20C). 

So, we dressed warm and off we went, after letting her mom know where we would be going. Something I was not usually good at doing, letting people know where I was going when I was by myself. We drove to a particular spot and down a small unused road as far as I could drive. Then we began our hike. That road suddenly ended at, well, nowhere. It just stopped. 

A lot of this little old roads were like that. We were close to a lake though, so we went down a sloped area to the shore. Like all the lakes that year, it had frozen so smooth and clear and what little snow we had, had blown off the lake. We slid around the shoreline for a while having fun on the ice. The ice was good and solid since we did have some colder weather recently and with no snow that ice got thick quickly. 

Then Krissy got the idea to cross the lake to an area with some large pine trees where there was no snow. ”A great spot to have our lunch,” she said. I agreed, and I did have my axe with me, plus some rope. I cut a couple long poles for us to use as well, just in case we suddenly fell through the ice. 

I went first and checked the ice with my axe regularly to make sure it was still solid. Then I stopped at one spot and hit the ice. My axe went through and I did not even hit the ice hard. That ice was not even half an inch thick. I stood up and that is when we heard a lot of cracking. I told Krissy to backtrack quickly, which she did. 

I tossed my backpack back as far as possible to reduce my weight. Then I took a step back and the ice gave way under me! Well, I do not want this to get too long today, I know everyone is busy this time of year. I will have part 2 ready for tomorrow afternoon. Have a great weekend everyone and God bless! 

Steve and Muffin. 

©2023 Steve McLeod.