This pic is good for describing how Boone can make you feel in the winter. It gets icy, snowy, icy, cold, windy, windy and cold. You wander around leaving tracks as you go and you’re not sure where your headed. Sometimes there seems to be a light that you might be moving towards, but you get there and realize you already passed that light hours ago and your moving in circles again. If you can keep you head you might enjoy this epic wintery trek, but if you start to let the winter get at you, the journey through the coldest darkest part of the year will grow exponentially longer.
Christmas comes around and you seek haven in southern Illinois of all places. This has been a southern tradition since high school. When you can take the family life anymore and the leftover turkey is running low you call up your boys and head to Jackson falls for some Rock Climbing and Hot Dogs round the fire. I’m usually pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy fighting gravity instead of falling with it. (Just my humble, Kayaker’s interpretation.)
Memphia
Its good to run with your homies. Rufus, Sam, and Melina on patrol down by Old Man River. The one and only Big Muddy, he just keeps rollin’ along.
This is the Eye of Sauron. It is the manifestation of the Dark Lord that brings all things wintery to Boone. It rules over Trout Lake and its evil minion geese will protect the icy waters at all costs. I probably shouldn’t hate because we’ve been getting good water that usually arrives in the solid form before liquefying and swelling our blessed waterways. It’s a balance of good and evil, just like everything else.
I briefly escaped wintery Boone to discover a balmy Vermont. Weird? all the locals blamed the “January thaw.” I tried to drop my knee and free my heel on these XC skis and usually ended up on my behind. Still it was fun to experience a new way of looking at the winter.
Vermont Night Life:
Sledding. Sipping. Fire. Book. bed. Simple.
I returned to Boone to find a great suprise. There was water and plenty of it and the Linville gorge was still a short drive from home. This is what makes winter worth it. Long, Cold, Leisurely days in Heaven. Let me see if i can explain.
Who knew China was only a fader boof stroke away?
Logs moved on christmas day and we got a new, old, rapid as a present from mother nature! She also took a really cool boof about 1/10 of a mile downstream, but ill settle for the trade.
Coop in the Heart of Cathedral. No doubt, having some deep thoughts deep in the deepest gorge around. This is when you can feel right at home in the middle of winter.
Two more reasons why this place feels like heaven.
Sunsets after full days.
Sunrises full of anticipation.
one more……
Deep Breaths on the way down.
The x-country ski pic makes me miss January and everything that it was.