Maple Springs SNOW!

My friend Pauline and I wanted to go hiking. Pauline is back home on winter break from medical school. Grenada has alot of sunshine and rain but no snow. So, when Rick came up with his BRILLIANT idea of hiking through Maple Springs it seemed perfect. We got a late start but hit the trailhead about noon. Pauline wanted to wear shorts, and actually, being the southern california gals that we are, I almost agreed not knowing exactly how much snow we would encounter. We both ended up wearing long pants and it was a good thing.
The first mile was easy, pavement and just a little snow on the sides of the road. A few very wet creek crossings later we hit snow on the road. By mile 2 we were happily trekking through about 4-5 inches of granular fluffy white stuff. At about 2.5 miles the uphill and slogging got harder. The snow was about mid-calf to us. We came across a family coming back down, they made it to the guard rail and said it was about half an hour more. That became our goal.
It was absolutely beautiful hiking. Snow on the trees, the road in spots barely touched, it felt like we were in another state. We stopped to make snowmen...a tribute to Rick...and admired other snowpeople along the way.
We made it to the guardrail and noticed the trail beyond looked almost untouched-very inviting! But the clouds were coming in and it was getting late. Pauline still had to deal with her car which was leaking coolant when we left it in the parking lot. Sooo a few pictures later we heading down the road.
3 hours of fun just 40 min. from home!