It was just so confusing today. I hiked into Brown Lake near Wakefield, one of my favourite ‘go to’ places when I just want to experience being outdoors in the park. Earlier this week and last we’d had lots of rain, and then with today’s temperature at -15C with a wind chill of -30C it was the first time this year I’d had to wear my warmer down jacket for hiking. The experience was of a sub zero January day, and yet, the the terrain didn’t match that experience. Yes, the ice on the lake had refrozen after the rain, but it felt weird while experiencing these low temperatures to see shorelines exposed and creeks open requiring fancy foot work to cross over. And, there was a sense of re-emergence – here some steps down to the water from an old cottage, and Kody’s ‘jumping off’ rock poking through what was last week’s melting snow. Today however, the predominant experience was of a frigid January day.
