Re: Out Hiking?

>Tue Jan 22, 2013 8:16 am (PST) . Posted by: "Ned Tibbits" nedtibbits

>Ice skating on lakes or wherever you can find it sounds like a lot of fun,
especially if you’re certain that it’s safe.

There are some places where mobility and navigation are improved in the
winter, because people can skate or ski and zip across terrain that was
slow slogging during the summer.  Conversely, there are places where the
wet season floods the roads -- but that's an improvement, because the roads
were poor to begin with, and few people have automobiles, and so the wet
season is when they can actually get out and move around, using canoes and
boats.

[...]

>“Bumper season” and winter hiking, when the whole environment around you
changes to something you’ve never seen before just
>because of a little snow (doesn’t matter how deep it is) or nasty,
non-ideal weather, is exhilarating and low-key (you’ve got to add in a
>little more safety awareness to your day) and fun.

When I took a winter camping class a few years ago, the weather was
unseasonably warm and  it rained the second day.  The instructors were very
disappointed by this, and said that's the worst kind of weather to do
snowshoeing in:  winter snow everywhere, but rain falling.  So instead of
doing snow-oriented stuff such as building snow caves, we huddled beneath a
tarp and did more sedentary activities such as tying knots, discussion
about winter hiking, etc.

Is that sort of weather indeed very undesirable to go out snowshoeing (or
backcountry skiing) in?  Or were the instructors being over choosy about
seeking ideal weather?  This was in southern California (but up near 9,000
feet on the side of Mt. San Jacinto, so plenty of snow).


--MKT