Cathedral

Weekly Photo Challenge:  Path

Getting out into the woods is a more difficult task when you’re in the midst of an arctic weather pattern.  A couple weeks before Christmas, we were in the single or negative digits.  So, when the temperature finally broke out to a high of 17 degrees, it was time to get out.  I spent two hours hiking at my local arboretum (with some warming breaks in between).  It was desperately needed and the cold felt invigorating.

You’ll find mostly deciduous trees at our local arboretum, with a few coniferous areas. One of the last trails I hiked began with a path into what struck me this time as a cathedral of conifers.

I’ve walked this way many times, but rarely in the snow and silence and without a soul around.  The effect was a calming, spiritual atmosphere.  The bench was beckoning, but the temperature fought me.  As a compromise, I promised myself to come back and snowshoe…. when it’s over 30 degrees.

With the exception of some highlights, 2016 was a wretched, uneventful slog of a year, and I’ll be most happy to see it go.  Walking along that path into the conifers made me reflect on the past year and stirred some hope inside me that 2017 will be much brighter.