Hey Tribe,
Clear skies in the winter means cold weather here in Alaska and with that comes hoar frost - or "horror" frost as I thought it was called when I was a child, named for how horribly cold it is when this type of large frost forms. Sunshine is a precious commodity coming out of winter's deep darkness and these cold, clear days cause Alaskans to bundle up and bask in the light - even if it isn't warm. Hoar frost is a magical consolation prize for venturing outside into negative temps and the KBDs and I were richly rewarded this past week.
Several inches of fresh snow caused the kicksled to bog down a bit on the trail we used to access the Knik arm, but we worked up a sweat and journeyed through the snow-laden woods out to open flatland to look at the ice floes.
Have you ever gasped aloud when seeing an unexpectedly beautiful sight? I did when I gazed across the expanse at the majestic Chugach mountains with a cloudy scarf swaddling their treeline and saw the fog rolling up from the open water channels.
It was stunning.
The KBDs had a good frolic while I stood there gaping at the scenery trying to keep my fingers and my cell phone warm as I took dozens of photos.
At the beep of their collars, the dogs ran back to me and posed for some glamor shots before dashing into the frost laden grass and reeds to hunt for mice. Little mouse prints covered one particular section and I agree that it seems a nice place to have a home if I were a mouse.
The Karelian hunters were unsuccessful, as far as I know, so I gave both dogs treats for again coming to me when I called them and we clipped back into the kicksled for our return journey.
One day soon we will return to this place of frosty beauty to spend the entire day luxuriating in the sunshine and savoring the frost before wind and warm temperatures whisk it into Spring.
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