I went for a hike on the Pine Hollow Trail in American Fork Canyon on Saturday morning. Photographically it wasn’t a highly productive day. There was another big storm moving in from the Pacific. The skies were gray, and the lighting was mostly flat. The best part of the hike was the hike itself. It felt good to get out of the house and have some exercise. Since it hasn’t snowed for a week and this is a popular trail, I figured I wouldn’t need snowshoes, that the snow would be well packed. On the other hand, it was uphill, and the ice might have been a problem. Last month I bought a pair of micro spikes that slip over my hiking boot. With those and my leg gaiters, I thought I would do fine. The trail was indeed packed firm 18 inches to 2 feet wide. The problem was drifting off that packed surface and then immediately sinking up to my waist. I tried to stay centered in the trail, but the problem was with the fat tire bikes that came by occasionally. I’d have to step out of their way to let them pass and then I was swallowed by unpacked snowfall. I wasn’t liking the fat tire guys much after a while.

The micro spikes worked great. I felt like I was hiking on a regular trail. I didn’t slip until I started downhill. On the downhill stride I had to learn to plant my foot in a way that allowed the front teeth of the crampon to make contact with the snow, and then I didn’t slide. It took a while to learn that technique.

These images aren’t unique to my library. I’ve shot from this location many times, and in all four seasons. But, no two images are ever the same. Though the location may remain the same, the weather and time of day changes the setting in an infinite variety of ways. The mountain peak remained shrouded in cloud the entire morning, so I decided to make the aspens the focus of my attention. The light reflected off the snow and lit the undersides of the branches nearly as much as the top, so the aspens stand out as brightly lit specimens. The aspens work as a great complimentary element to the dark pines in the background.

We have stormy weather for a good part of the next week. It’s been warmer than usual lately with even rain in the valley. The uneven snowpack increases the risk for avalanches, so I’m not sure when I’ll be back into the mountains again. And so, that’s it for this week.