Shaking The Tree

The sky looked dark and grey, heavy with on-coming snow. Cars were streaming by, long lines, leaving the mountain, everything was closing. We were at the beginning of the snow line, but already, aside from us and one other car, the mountain felt deserted.

There was a stream, a narrow bridge, and a sign saying this way to the lake.

It was dry at the car, but inside the forest, it was raining hard from the melting snow. I made sure Eryn kept her hood up, over her head. Our waterproofs did the rest especially when showers of soft powdery snow came cascading down from the trees. It was magical.

Eryn loved shaking the trees and watching the snow come showering down. We took turns in shaking tress and covering each other in snow. Eventually, we got to the lake. It was ice, covered in snow. We got a third of the way round the lake, and I saw the tip of the mountain disappear in cloud. Time to go.

As we left the lake light snow was falling lightly, and much more of the mountain was under cloud, it was surprisingly warm, not freezing at all. We walked back, down the mountain side in ever thickening falling snow, but most it was held aloft by the redwoods and firs and pines.

We didn’t really have far to go to get down to the car, so we were able to follow the trail through the woods and enjoy the fresh snow. And as it became heavier we could stop in clearings and stare opened mouthed into the falling flakes. Yummy, for people like us who love to eat ice, there is nothing like soft fresh snow.

And then down the mountain and home, with memories of a special walk that will last a lifetime.