Spring break snowshoe

With the help of YaYa to watch Vivian, the Mr. was able to take Stella and Hudson on a day excursion to Hyalite Canyon.  Usually, we make it up there a couple of times during the winter, but with all the skiing we've been doing, this was a first for the year. Since he was there, with a camera phone and the first-aid kit, Mr. gets to write the captions for this one:

Before we even left the parking lot, Stella and Hudson were seeing what the platters on their feet could do when Stella found the sharp end of a broken whiskey bottle with her right knee. I was strapping on my snowshoes when she said, "Daddy, there was something sharp in the snow. I think it cut me."

Indeed it did, slashed right through her snow pants, long underwear, and a few layers of knee skin. Fortunately, the well-stocked first aid kit in the back of the van came through huge! She only cried when I started talking stitches. But after a quick lunch, she rallied and we hit the trail.

Penny did great for her first off-leash hike as a member of our family. Stella and Hudson have been off leash for a long time, and I was amazed at how quickly they adapted to their new footwear. We climbed up a fairly steep side trail that I knew led to the base of a substantial frozen waterfall.

 At the top, the ice falls were impressive--as were the cliffs surrounding them--and we kept our distance. We dug a snow pit at the base of this snowfield, and I was able to show our budding snow scientists the layers in the snowpack. I was even able to get a column to propagate! There would be no skiing this slope today, kids. After a wee snack, we tromped, slid, and giggled back down to the main trail.

We found a killer snow cave tucked away in a meadow. Stella, then Hudson and me, slid penguin-style into the dark opening. And wouldn't you know it? The light was perfect inside for this portrait of Hudson, a happy snow romper, after spending a fun afternoon making "big ole tracks" (his words) in Hyalite canyon.