Great Notch

Thought I'd be spending the day driving, only to discover last night that plans had changed. Jo will stay in NJ a while longer. Since I'd worked to clear my schedule it meant the whole day was suddenly free. So this morning I pulled on a ton of layers and headed out for a proper hike in some cold, cold weather.

Paused up at Great Notch to capture the mood. What did I write in the log book? I'll never tell. Just by chance, however, I opened to a page which read, in large letters, BIDEN WINS! So word gets around.

After coming down the other side of the notch I hiked along the West side of Long Pond. The wind was blowing from the North and pushing all the ice up against the shore, where it was breaking into pieces and churning with the waves. There was a constant crackling sound all the way back to the trailhead. It sounded like a very cold campfire - all sorts of hissing and popping with a bit of icy crinkle tossed in. 

The extra photo captures an icy section right towards the end. Luckily there wasn't too much of this sort of thing on the hike, but it gives an accurate sense of the weather. By the time I got home I felt rather drained and achy. 

And just like that...goodbye January!