Microspikes for Winter Hikes!

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Lake Blanch. 6.9 miles. 2706 feet elevation gain. Date hiked: Jan. 16, 2021

This year, for the first time in hiking history, the hiking history of Leti and Stacey that is, we went on a winter hike, compliments of microspikes! Leti's Christmas present for the win! I gave this hike 5 out of 5 snowflakes. It was fantastic to go on a hike in January in the Wasatch Mountatins! The trail was great. The weather was perfect. The snow was really beautiful. 

First, microspikes. What a great invention. Here is what they look like on bottom and the top: 

What a great invention! They worked swimmingly well on snow and ice. In slush, they did stick just a bit, but I thought they still worked well. 

Second, the hike. As we hiked up the trail, Leti was her usual athletic self with her less-athletic friend in tow. Luckily for the less-athletic, slightly out-of-shape friend, this hike was a little easier in snow. The trail was not rocky at all. Just snowy. There were a few points on the way up where I couldn't really enjoy the lack of rocks because I was dreaming of having enough oxygen to breathe to sustain life. Those dreams came true when we stopped for a moose sighting on the way up and the way down. They were the same two moose, and worth stopping for. On the way down, we stopped and watched them for about ten minutes. It was interesting to see them post hole their way around the snow while trying to eat. I think I know why their legs are so gangely long. Winter snows are challenging to navigate unless you have these super long, gangly legs. 

Two lovely moose.

Third, the top was really beautiful. There is probably only three feet of snow at the top. Which is why I might be praying for snow multiple times a day. The sky and clouds and mountatins were just charming. Blessed. 

Leti at the top. Look at those low lying clouds. So beautiful.

Me, with Lake Blanch and Sundial in the background. 

You will note that in all of these pictures we are wearing sunglasses. There are reasons for this. We took of our glasses for a milisecond, only to go blind. It was so blooming bright! 

We enjoyed our stay at the top. We observed a group of young men having a snow ball throwing contest. That was fun. We observed our snacks. We took in the beauty. And, we got cold just sitting there. So, we snapped a few photos and headed back down the trail! The microspikes on the way down were very grippy. There was no slipping at all. It was a dream come true. We had a great time. It was another successful hike in the books! 

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