Midwinter's Heart

I've spoken often about how much I love my walk to and from the train station at work. It reminds me every time how much aggravation I am avoiding, how beautiful the world is. But the ice storm last week added a new wrinkle.

The bridge was closed!

The snow, ice and then sleet/freezing rain on Tuesday-Wednesday made the bridge mighty treacherous. Well, I guess enough people complained about how dangerous it was, because by Thursday afternoon, they put up the emergency tape. And yes, the picture is oriented fine; whoever tied the tape just did it upside down. But I scoff at danger, because I have skills. And preparations!


These are called "Yak Tracks". A fellow train commuter showed me his before Christmas, and I requested them as a holiday gift. Here is a picture of my footprint from a few days earlier, where the coiled wire cut through the snow.


There is something primal about dropping things from great heights. The ice lent itself to this activity awesomely.


I could break off large slabs of ice, nudge them over the edge


and onto the frozen river below.




One other nifty feature of forging on through the crusty snow was how LOUD the walk is. Every once in a while, one of the boards of the bridge would pop. Turn the sound up and listen to the video. The BOOM is about 7 seconds in.




It was really a beautiful, if loud, morning walk.



This, for anyone interested, is my complete cold-weather kit. Please note the awesome BYU colored tuque. Thanks Laurajane!