Frost in the doldrums

It seems that the "January Doldrums" have kicked in. For the past couple of weeks, we've been under clear, cold skies with nary a flake of snow. Although the darkness up north seems to exacerbate the month's toil, a quick Google search for the term yields several results of bloggers elsewhere dealing with feelings of boredom and ways to shake the torpor. I, for one, am quite impressed with the local nordic ski association's impeccable trail grooming which has turned ice into snow and provided great skiing conditions. The forecast suggests several more days of cold, dry air in the future - better increase the vitamin D intake.

Kodiak Ice

During the past few weeks Meghan, Rebel and I have encountered lots of ice on nearly every trail when we go out for a hike. Although the cold temperatures allow water to form beautiful icefalls like the one above (found on Spruce Cape), it makes for interesting walks through the woods. Our friends say that last winter was much worse for icy conditions. We can't imagine what the hiking/ driving surfaces might have looked like last winter.

I have found that the brown neoprene boots made by XTRATUF, ubiquitous around Kodiak, actually grip better to the ice than my Vasque Gore-Tex hiking boots. I discovered this fact while on a walk to one of our favorite beaches near town. Much of the trail was covered with a thick layer of ice. Meghan wore her Xtratufs and I wore hiking boots. I seemed to slip and slide much more often than Meghan during the walk. A confounding factor, however, may have been my foolhardy approach to hiking. As you can see Meghan attacks the Kodiak ice in her Xtratuf's with aplomb during a Saturday afternoon hike.

While I might be able to change my footwear to reduce slipping an sliding, poor Rebel is stuck with his short little legs and bossy nose. Scrambling to follow a scent Rebel often slips on the ice and loses his balance. Luckily, he doesn't have very far to fall.