Fire and Snow

 February 28, 2026

Hello Dear Reader,

How is your Year of the Fire Horse going so far?  I hope it is going well.  I recently travelled to an area that is acquainted with fire:  Hitchcock Nature Center!  I previously visited this area about a year ago and it had been recently ablaze.  Although no longer smouldering, the smell of burnt wood lingered along with fantastical wood sculptures carved into the landscape by the flames.  

Although it is not readily apparent in the photo, it reminds me a bit of a Giacometti sculpture

It was starting to warm up, but a collapsable water container someone had left behind at the group campsite was still mostly ice. 

I was happy to get out on some trails and to try out my new, recently Sno-Sealed Keen boots.  They felt pretty great, with one exception that I will expound upon later.

I arrived at HNC last Tuesday morning that was sunny with temps just a bit below freezing, which I thought would be good since there was still a good bit of snow on the ground and once it melts it would be a mess out there.  I traipsed about for a while with the intent of making it out to the Mt. Crescent area.  Despite having one of the more recent maps that includes the Mt. Crescent area, I turned a bit earlier than I intended and ended up back at the Westridge trail near the High Point backcountry campsite.  That was alright with me; however, as I was starting to get kind of hungry. My boots were feeling pretty good; however there was some chafing on the outside of my left ankle.  I tightened up the boot and that seemed to help, but did not completely eliminate the problem.  Next time I think I will try one or more of the following:

• Loosen the laces in this part of the boot (maybe tight on foot and loose on ankle area.
• Where my thin liners underneath a thicker sock
• Bring some duct tape to tape either ankle or inside of boot to reduce friction
• Bring moleskin to apply to ankle 

In summary, it was unpleasant and I’d like to avoid that in the future.  My ankle is still a little sore even though it’s been four days since my hike!  Hopefully the boots will break in so I don’t need to take special measures to be comfortable.  I generally prefer wearing shoes vs. boots, but I am thinking of attempting some alpine hikes and/or backpacking later this year and I like having the extra ankle support when carrying a pack.  It’s also nice for keeping the snow out, although I guess gaiters are pretty good for that too.  Anyway, during this expedition I had both the boots and the gaiters and there were no problems with any snow inside the footwear.

As I mentioned, the burnt wood sculptures were compelling and I spent a few minutes taking some more photos once I descended from the ridge (and taken a mild fall due to an ill-advised step onto the still frozen and slippery soil on the side of the snowy path).  

It was during this selfie session that I took off my gloves and later dropped one!  Oh no!  Fortunately I noticed the missing glove before I ascended The Chute trail back up to the visitors center/parking lot.  I went back for it and we were reunited.  

I’ve had these OR thin gloves/liners for at least a half a decade or so (ancient for a pair of gloves!) and although they currently smell kind of bad due to a recent work experience that involved a well from hell, I’m hopeful the smell might dissipate especially if I resort to a more frequent washing schedule (current schedule is “as needed” which typically has meant annually).  The Chute appeared to be pretty smooth, 

so I suspect that some bold souls have been using it as a sledding run, similar to the bobsledding event you may have witnessed at the recently-concluded Winter Olympics.  Those were great!  I didn’t watch much, but I particularly enjoyed a couple of events where the USians emerged victorious:  mixed team aerial and men’s hockey, as well as the ice dance figure-skating event where the French team managed to triumph even though the Canadians were more likable and soulful.  Anyway, in a non-Olympic event, I made it back, climbed the tower to snap a few photos, 

and headed back home.  I’ll get booted up and back on the trails once I let my ankle heal up a bit and get supplies ready to help out if I still experience some ankle pain.

In the meantime, I was told the movie 14 Peaks is worth watching and I am sure it will provide some inspiration for my planned alpine hiking expedition(s) later this year.  I am considering an attempt on Longs Peak that would ideally include some backcountry camping.  However, I am aware that these sites can be tough to get.  They will be available for online reservations starting tomorrow at 8 a.m. MST.  I’ll let you know how that turns out for me.

Well, it’s Saturday so I will soon prepare to take the kids out for dinner.  This is a weekly tradition that allows us to enjoy one another’s presence for a few minutes in a convivial atmosphere.  

I hope that you all are safe and happy and have some appropriate footwear.  Let me know if you want to plan some alpine hiking and I’ll be sure to try to help out and/or participate.  

Now I gotta cut footloose!

BSO