Sunset.
By dawn the temperature must’ve dipped to about 9 or 10 below zero (F). I say this because when I first thought to check the weather station, it read minus-7—and that occurred at 8:30 a.m., when the sun had had a chance to bathe the landscape for a while. Something of a breeze, too, judging by the smoke coming from the neighbor’s chimney. A bit of a wind-chill.
When I took Jack out first thing, he soon began to try to walk without touching his paws to the snow. (I’d never seen him so confounded or tentative.) Right then I decided not to take him to Beech Hill with me today. And felt guilty about it in advance.
Snowy trail.
Several crows were huddling up in the oaks, and I heard chickadees out back and house sparrows across the road. Also a blue jay, calling from somewhere. We did take a little road trip to town, dog and I, where I spotted herring and ring-billed gulls, as well as two pigeons atop the old Van Baalan’s building. On our return, I heard—then saw—a solitary golden-crowned kinglet flitting about in the trees.
Finally, at nearly 4 p.m., I asked Jack to watch the house and set off for Beech Hill.
It was late. I was kind of in a hurry. And arrived to the sight of a car pulled into the parking lot entrance, blocking access. Annoying. I pulled off to park along the street—and must not have been paying close attention, because the truck slipped off into the snowy ditch. No problem, I’ve got four-wheel drive. Except I failed to realize I didn’t have four-wheel drive engaged. Got stuck before I noticed. How embarrassing. But a thoughtful motorist stopped to ask if I needed help and made a quick call to a friend. The friend didn’t have a tow rope but wondered if I had a Triple-A membership. Which (duh) I do. So I thanked the motorist and called Triple-A.
How embarrassing.
But the Triple-A lady warned me that, thanks to the extremely cold temperatures, I might have a two-hour wait. Oh, what the hell—I’d just hike the hill anyway. A hairy woodpecker called from somewhere in the trees.
Right away I met the owner of the car arriving back at the parking lot, a young woman with two handsome black German shepherd dogs. Off-leash dogs, when I first met them—but it turns out she’d just unhooked them from the Coastal Mountains Land Trust leashes hanging alongside the kiosk. Good. And she apologized for blocking access to the parking lot.
“The snow is really deep up there,” she said. It was her first visit to Beech Hill.
Birch.
So I put on my snowshoes and I hurried up the frigid trail. Seems we two might’ve been the only people up there today: the well-trod snowshoe track was completely drifted over, and the hike was slow going. As I neared my favorite birch tree, I got thinking about how it’d be dark soon, and Jack was home alone, and I figured maybe I could call a garage I know of nearby. So I snapped a couple photos of the birch and turned back. I’d thought to wear a scarf, but not even half a hike the cold had already numbed my ears within my sweatshirt hood. At least the wind had died down some.
Back at my stuck pickup, I called the garage. Just as I found out they had no one to come pull me out, another vehicle stopped. A four-wheel drive. The couple inside offered assistance. And had a tow rope. Within about three minutes, I was back on the road. (Thanks again, you guys!)
Called Triple-A back and canceled roadside service. The pickup was none the worse for wear. I can’t remember the last time I’d gotten any vehicle of mine stuck in any conditions—let alone a capable four-wheel-drive in snow. Twenty years, at least. Embarrassing.
The temperature must’ve hit 6 degrees today—and doesn’t seem to have gotten much cooler tonight. And I hear we’re due a warming trend: supposed to reach the low-20s tomorrow.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:15 p.m., I hiked (part of) the open trail.
1. Hairy woodpecker (voice)
Elsewhere
2. American crow
3. Black-capped chickadee
4. House sparrow
5. Blue jay
6. Golden-crowned kinglet
7. Herring gull
8. Ring-billed gull
9. Rock pigeon
Tags: American crow, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, golden-crowned kinglet, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, house sparrow, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon
