“It really is pretty easy to practise social distancing when one is out in the mountains.” -gh
“It’s easy to see what’s coming next- no access to provincial lands. If not right away- once the NP closure inevitably causes overcrowding elsewhere. A poor decision in my opinion.” -Steve Riggs
Steve’s quote is a good example of The Law of Unintended Consequences.
There were five well-spaced vehicles in the Boulton Creek parking lot but I didn’t see a single skier on the trails. The only living being with whom I was able to practice my well-honed social distancing skills was the coyote.
I arrived at Boulton Creek around 3 pm to winter wonderland. The air temperature was -2°C and there was 1 cm of fresh snow over yesterday’s grooming. I waxed with VR45(-2/-8) and covered it with VR40(-4/-12) and had perfect grip with no sticking. I was even striding up most of the hills on Whiskey Jack.
I also skied on Tyrwhitt to the picnic table, backtracked and headed down Pocaterra to Packers. There was about 4 cm of fresh snow at the Packers/Pocaterra junction and it started snowing as I descended Packers.
Although I didn’t see any skiers, I knew they were out there because the tracks were well-polished by early birds.
Today’s snow was clean, cold, and pristine. Unseen this winter are the snow fleas which are normally ubiquitous at this time of year. While enjoying the downhills on Packers, I also thought to myself that we didn’t have the usual ice flows this winter.
How many of you remember the “Backdoor to Pocaterra?” I’ve posted a picture in the gallery. It hasn’t been used lately, but we sure were enjoying it back in November.
PLPP Mar 24, 2020
