Snowshoeing at -15˚F

Today was a much warmer day than yesterday's -24˚F, instead it was only -15˚F. It was another very clear day which is probably why it was so cold. When there is cloud cover the "heat" gets trapped in but clear days it's very cold. Yesterday I had a debate of whether I would take a nap or go hiking and the nap won out. Today I was bound and determined to get outside in the sun.

I suited up with my wool socks, Cuddl Duds, boots, face mask, gloves and wool mittens to cover the gloves. I brought my camera along I hopes of taking in some shots of the cornucopious amounts of snow covering every tree, branch, trail, and rock.

I headed to Mirror Lake where I had been earlier in the year but this time instead of trudging through the deep snow I was armed with snowshoes. I arrived and after securing the snowshoes on my feet I headed down the trail.

The scenery was better than the last time I had been there. There were many trees folded over or broke off due to recent high wind storms and the weight of the snow on top of each tree. The Black Spruce trees were all "spruced up" with snow, and the birch, white as they may be where also covered in white snow. The sun was out but with so many trees and snow covering the canopy I only caught glimpses of it.

Canopy of trees covered in snow

Pretty Spruce

The snow be so very deep!

The snow makes fun formations on the tree branches

Birch trees painted with snow

The trail I opted for was the 2.5 K, although I got off the wrong trail for a bit and followed the 7K before turning around at the site of a very steep hill. I continued on and arrived at Edmonds Lake. I walked out on the snow covered ice to see Bear Mountain with the moon out up above and it was only 3:00pm!

The moon is out above Bear Mountain

Edmond's Lake

As I made my way off the lake back onto the trail I encountered several times falling snow. The trees would shake and ALL the snow come crashing down on top, in front, or directly behind me. The first time this happened it scared me as I heard a great rumble/galloping sound behind me. Immediately I thought it was a moose or other animal running towards me. Of course the moment I turned around I laughed at myself as I saw it was just the falling snow.

Snapped this picture right as the trees in front of me were shedding their layer of snow

Towards the end of my snowshoeing expedition my camera quit working. I snapped a picture only to get an "error" that said the shutter was jammed and I would have to release it manually. I took my camera and put it under my coat. This was fine for a time until I brought it out again to take a picture of the spruce trees near the end of the trail. The camera fogged over from the changing temp of inside my coat to -15˚F. Within a minute the condensation bubbles on the outside of my camera turned to solid ice bubbles. I wish I had a second camera so I could have captured that.

The viewing screen of the camera now had a thin line of frost across the screen as well as over the lens with that I decided to keep the camera in my coat for fear I might wreck and otherwise expensive piece of equipment.

One of the "foggy" pictures from my camera covered in condensation

The spruce remind me of corn back home, what my dad calls "soldiers" off to battle

 As I returned to the car I couldn't help but laugh at my refelction in the car window. My hair covered in ice and stuck to my right eye lashes. My eyebrows covered in snow, and my entire face mask had a thin layer of ice as the condensation from my sweat and body heat escaping my head had frozen. Was I cold? I was not, I was sweating! The only thing that was cold was my eyebrows, and inner nose and my eye balls I suppose. That's funny to say but yes, my eye balls. Perhaps next time I will wear a ski mask. Oh how I love Alaska, even at -15˚F below!

click for larger image