Improvements

I did better this week!  Monday was President's Day, so I was able to return to the mountain for a little more snowshoeing.  I just did the entrance loop--I had a report of a tree down on the trail.  I wasn't able to clear the tree, but I did remove the pesky branches that were sticking up.  It was about a three mile loop; I followed it up with a short hike at Feryn Ranch Conservation Area.  It's so pretty out there!  I really need to do more exploring on that property, but today I saw more pheasants than I could count, one bald eagle, and a bunch of red-winged blackbirds (I love their song!).  The ground was pretty wet and I couldn't figure out a way to cross Peone Creek, so I probably only covered a mile.

Tuesday was a day off; I had a meeting in the evening & couldn't fit in time for a run, too. 

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were all running days--first the Foothills loop, then to the Dishman Hills, and finally to Iller Creek. I think they were all about three miles. 

My weekend plans got changed late in the week, and it turned out that it was just as well.  My Thirteen Mile hike, car camp, and Sherman Peak snowshoe turned into a snowy weekend at home.  I woke up to light snowfall and a bare yard on Saturday morning; by 3 pm I had a foot of snow on the ground.  My exercise for the day was afternoon snow removal: First I shoveled my yard, then my brother and I cleared the snow from my parents' driveway and pathways.  On Sunday I couldn't resist a snowshoe outing, so I went up to Mount Spokane.  I intended to try for Day Mountain, but no one had snowshoed past Bald Knob.  I was sinking in knee-deep even with the snowshoes, and was pretty exhausted by the time I got to the CCC cabin junction.  It also took me an hour to do the last section of the hike!  I knew I needed to check on the chalet, so I headed back.  I then spent an hour shoveling the chalet deck, and only managed to clear half of it!  The snow was even with the top railing on the deck--somewhere between three & a half and four feet.  It was a little overwhelming, and certainly hard work.  It had all fallen since last Saturday when I was there last.  I heard that the mountain got at least 21" yesterday alone.  Crazy!

Totals = 8 miles snowshoe; 1 mile hike; 9 miles running.  Plus so much shoveling.