January 25, 2013

Cold air has descended across much of the country this week, and the Adirondacks are an epicenter of bitter temperatures. Thanks to the Lake Clear airport, I've seen Saranac Lake mentioned on national broadcasts like those of The Weather Channel because it is so cold in our region. After all, low temperatures in the -20s (we even dipped below -30 on Wednesday night) are quite impressive. We don't even need to talk in terms of wind chill to sound hardy around here. And I've made it known to my family and friends outside the area to act as though I'm tough. At the same time I'm also trying to cover my windows more thoroughly in an attempt to save energy and money.

And it is cold. Really cold. "Hawkin cold" as my high school cross country coach would say. Cars won't start (I just replaced a battery and an alternator), fingers freeze, and your face goes almost instantly numb in the air. Cold of this sort is its own entity. It's like a person with big toes and a large personality that pervades every space they enter and around which you must constantly negotiate your words and actions. It influences everything we do.

But while we batten down the hatches and huddle inside as the deck and siding outside bang and pop with the loud cracks of contraction, I am reminded that cold like this also needs to be experienced – not simply avoided. Provided you take the necessary precautions, cold like this needs to be felt – albeit for a brief time. In this light I went for a short walk yesterday morning just as the sun was rising simply to feel the bite of the day at its coldest hour. And despite my busy schedule this week with deadlines and meetings, Wren and I have still managed to get out cross country skiing and hiking.

Wren ice face
Wren shows off her ice face while we were out cross country skiing.

On such excursions my moustache and beard catch the vapor from my breath and I end up with what I call an "ice beard" as each hair gets coated white. Wren gets the same thing around her muzzle, augmenting it with her constant nosing and poking in the snow. Perhaps we are both getting a glimpse of ourselves as we age. And despite the fun of this, it is important to stay warm enough and avoid the very real threat of frostbite for both you and your pet if you head out. After all the feet of some dogs can be prone to collecting ice or by having their pads crack.

Yesterday I donned an extra vest layer to keep my core warm and a balaclava – something I seldom employ – to protect my face which as witnessed touches of frostbite in the past. I was amazingly snug and we set off heading north from the north end of the Bloomingdale Bog Trail into a cold, silent world. I heard nothing but my breathing and the distinctive squeaky sound of my skis and poles on cold snow – snow for which I'm sure the Inuit and Eskimo have a specific name. We heard no birds, but found tracks of a few walkers, dogs, coyotes, snowshoe hares, and ruffed grouse. The world was ours.

Bloomingdale bog snow
Bloomingdale bog after a snow. The bog is a great place for cross country skiing and hiking in winter - even in weather this cold.

Bird life on my morning walk was more active as mourning doves, chickadees, nuthatches, and common redpolls – among others – raced for sustenance at bird feeders after making it through the night. Caught up in our own dealings with the cold we can sometimes forget how such tiny birds can make it through the bitter reality of this weather for them. Truth is, birds do perish in such harsh conditions and they are forced to hunker down and endure them, eating as much as they can and relying on their fat stores to get them through. I've made sure to keep bird seed out in the yard and feeders as a result.

After better than five miles on our ski, Wren and I returned to the car after a beautiful evening sunset, my balaclava coated with white crystals, and my eyebrows and eye lashes weighed down with chunks of ice. I felt like a polar explorer. I had been watching Wren the whole time to be sure she was trotting okay and she showed no sign of any cold or sore foot issues. I checked them at home and thankfully they were fine. We went back outside in the evening again just to look at the stars in the cold, clear sky and to feel the cold air one more time before bed. I brought out a cup of hot water which I threw in the air to watch it burst into vapor. That's something everyone should do when it's this cold.

Wren ice face
Wren shows off her ice face while we were out cross country skiing.
Bloomingdale bog snow
Bloomingdale bog after a snow. The bog is a great place for cross country skiing and hiking in winter - even in weather this cold.

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