Hiking at Piseco Lake, NY

Outdoor winter activity is not something I enjoy. Often I wonder how I ended up in the wrong state. I was born here, but I’ve lived in states where the winter months weren’t as severe. Sometimes, I feel like I was born in the wrong state. Is there a term for that? Like Trans-state? I don’t know. Could be a word, I guess.  Anyway, when my sister announced that she was going to go hiking and asked if I could go, I reluctantly agreed. Mainly due to the fact that,

a) It was last minute &

b) she had told me there would be snow

Ugh. The older I get, the more I need routine, schedules, and to plan ahead. And why would I want to travel to a place that has snow? I’m trying to welcome the spring-like weather that is slowly making its way in, and now I’m going to go play in the snow?!!? Fiiiiiinnnnnee. I will go.  It will be an experience, I thought. I’ll try something different! Besides, my kids seemed to be excited to go, and I could get some cardio in, so off we went!

Here we go…

We stopped to climb a up some huge boulder to take a picture,

My sister, Kim

Our Fearless Leader hehe

Once you get going, and allow yourself to take it all in and relax, the scenery is quite beautiful! Snow was covering the ground; fighting with the mud and water that was trying to wash it away. Branches and rocks hid behind ice and more snow. A trickle of water quietly streamed over the sharp edges of the plated rocks. The branches stood naked; unmoved by the chill in the air.

Winter can seem gloomy, the sun sets much earlier thus turning the clear sky blank with only a dark shadow stretching out above, but there winter stood, on the mountain, during our hike, breathing against the earth, unnerved, pure and peaceful. The sun brushed our skin lightly as we steadily hiked upward, pushing ourselves farther and farther to the top, anticipating our reward. Emerging at the top, the sun snuck away, allowing us to capture the beauty that engulfed us; a sheet of pure white touching the horizon gently and peacefully.

And we all made it!

YAY!!!

My niece, Madeline, didn’t put socks on, so she had to use my sister’s gloves as socks…

Don’t let that serious look fool you! She’s just being funny!

And what goes up, must come down, RIGHT? Ugh….going down took sledding to a whole new level.  We were slipping and sliding, trudging through the sticky mud, trying not to break our neck on the glassy ice, and trying to avoid accidental falls into large holes of water. Yea, I was quickly reminded of how quickly things change from all different levels and views.

Down we go!