Breaking Through~

1 p.m. Mt. Rainier

We left from Linda's & about half-way up the first stretch we came to the first tree snag down.  Linda had already made a way around it, so we continued on.  The sun was warm, but there was a good wind blowing & we both put jackets on the back of our saddles.

The "far side" of the clear cut we checked out last week~

With this clearing, they'll be more windfall - no protection for the existing trees lower down the hill.  We'd decided on a longer version of Linda's working winter loop.

Huge logs~

The skidder that was parked in this area, last time through - had done it's job & these huge logs are waiting for pick up.  All afternoon we commented on the weather.  Sure unusual for January!  Usually we can get a week or so in February that teases us into thinking that Winter is over - but Not this early!

Whitehorse, Three Fingers~

 As you can tell from the photo above - the snow pack that was so beautifully white has been melting rapidly!  The rivers are running full & no wonder, even without rain in the last few days.  It felt so good to be out & not be freezing cold!  Even the humidity was lower than usual.

Another tree down~

We were hungry - heading to the Monument & found the tree above nicely blocking the trail.  Not to be deterred, Linda broke through the brush around the base of the tree - got out her saw & had to cut through a smaller dead tree that would have prevented us from getting around.  With it out of the way - we could get by & get on!

Farah enjoying the day~

I've not been riding enough to suit Farah, she was like riding an animated circus pony for a while, a couple times jumping with all four feet off the ground!  We took turns in the lead - whoever was in the back taking the abuse :-)  We figure that if we do it enough - they will finally get the idea!