Some of the trails don't have numbers, they are just described by the destination.
Today was cold and sunny, not much wind. On a cold day it is good to start with a climb to warm up. And climb I did, indeed. As the song goes, climb every Montee...
The trail is clearly a road in other seasons. Complete with speed limits - I didn't need to slow down too much 😂
It is a daunting site to have one approach. Of course you can hear it long before you can see it, but once you can see it you have to get off the trail, head for the woods. Which I did. I got as far off as I could without sinking into the base, but the grooming machine just stopped. I wasn't sure why. And then I noticed...
And off he went down, and I kept climbing.
Did I mention the climb?
This is how it looked on Strava:
The climb seemed endless at times, but then the beauty took over again and I was distracted from the aching legs and shoulders.
I didn't listen to a book today, I listened to the mountains and the birds. I had some tiny little birds cheering me on, swooping down to say hello, crossing the trail and disappearing into the snow covered trees. I stopped to let the Merlin app help me know who they were.
The little warming hut finally came into view and the end of the trail was close...
Just past the cabin was the turnaround, and I was very grateful to be finished my climb and having a rest.
Enjoying my snack I took in the little pond and the view.
And then more skiers joined me. The Cornell Nordic Ski club. They were full of energy and laughter, and speaking English, which I don't hear much on the trails here. My ears perked up, only to hear "I am tracking for a 50 mile day" 🙃. Haha. I am tracking for a 50 mile week 🤩
As you can imagine, going down was much faster, and colder. I pulled up my neck warmer to just under my eyes, and tucked my poles under my arms, hands on knees. Whoosh.
At one point the sign says ATTENTION and shows a black diamond. Eek. Not what I signed up for. I'm a blue square trail girl. But what goes up. must come down so I took a deep breath and kept going. Great conditions are helpful. And so few skiers to worry about.
Another great day of skiing topped off with a stop at the BoniChoix to find warm baguettes
(It was definitely more than twice the size of this a few minutes ago).
I was a bit surprised to see my favorite Pain au Chocolat, with the controversial "other" name. What part of France are we aligned with here 😳
In the end, it was such a lovely day, I "tracked for a 20 km day" 😎.
Sleep well. I sure will.
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