The Hike From Hell

Took the worst hike I've had in at least a decade this morning...foolish of me not to expect today's 2 inch snowfall (October 16th??!!) to bend the saplings all the way to the ground and make some trails next to impassible... but of course after two miles it was too late to turn back, and around here there is no bush wacking off the trail because one gets lost too easily in the thousands of acres of wooded mountains. So I slogged on as the snow fell off the still fully leaved branches and thoroughly soaked me, all the while stepping into mud bogs to my boot tops because the ground rarely dries in Warren due to all the rain. I eventually came to a jeep road-normally wide enough for two vehicles-which also had trees bent double across it in places. I must admit that my sympathy for their plight mixed with curses at the difficulty they made walking. But so goes winter in Warren...Five plus months of mostly crap for an outdoor loving walker like me. I am accustomed to the more favorable temperatures and precipitation further east near Philadelphia and New York-where the sun actually shines for more than a day or two... methinks I will Never wholly acclimate to this... The future plan-after my mother dies and when full retirement kicks in- is to spend two or three months each winter in a warmer climate, but that time is not here yet so I simply have to suck it up and find the good. I've actually considered taking up bowling on cold January days...?? In the meantime Beth and I will be flying to Florida for a week or two in February, which will be something to look forward to and break up the dreary skies...because I am normally quite optimistic, I am embarrassed to sound so depressing, but weather wise Warren truly is the Seattle of the east to me, only colder.