Cold Weather Friends

I can tell it's cold outside each day by just a glance at my frosty window panes.  But what the heck, I've got the clothes to keep me warm, and even better, I've got good friends who wouldn't dream of letting a below-zero morning keep them indoors -- especially when the wind is still and a bright sun coaxes that temperature up into the teens as the day goes on.   Perfect for an easy walk with Evelyn and Bonnie around the North Creek Ski Bowl this past Wednesday afternoon.

The historic North Creek Ski Bowl was one of the first ski areas in the country to offer a ride-up, ski-down experience back in the 1930s, and today a chair-lift still carries skiers to the top of the town slopes, where they can access the many ski trails of the Gore Mountain ski resort on the far side of the mountain.  On this weekday, the Ski Bowl chair-lift was not operating, but we could still walk the series of trails that make the Ski Bowl an attractive destinations for hikers and snowshoers as well as downhill skiers.

Evelyn's uncle, Carl Schaefer, was the man who first introduced a tow system to these slopes back in 1935, so it was appropriate that Evelyn should lead us along a series of trails that in some areas wound through wooded sections, where we would often pause to study the many animal trails that crisscrossed the snow.

At other times, the trail opened up to reveal splendid views of the mountains across the valley.  We could also enjoy that expanse of radiant sky, of a blue we only get to see in the coldest days of winter.