Thursday, May 14, 2009

Snow, Sleet and Spring time

I live and play in a place where the flow of all things depends on the season and the weather. During both of my evening runs this week, I found myself running amidst big, fluffy, white snowflakes of the spring variety. Gray sky's, winds and short blustery storms have been passing through all week. This little squall rolled along the valley floor and hit me on the top of Tunnel Mountain, but by the time I reached the bottom of the mountain, the world was calm again.


Last night, Keith and I enjoyed a great run on some secret-secret trails in the Hoodoo's area of Banff. I always amazed every time I go there, I seem to find a new trail. Keith took me on a trail that I had never been before and we had sun, snow and sleet during the hour we were out and about!

This morning, a gift. A calm morning with new snow accumulations and big white floaty clouds. I drove out to Johnson Lake to enjoy an early morning run and the fresh snow and views. My footy prints were the first human prints of the morning, but I saw elk, deer and wolf footy prints on the trail. And the loons have arrived for the summer! It was so calm and quiet, I hated to disrupt the morning with all of the hootin' and hollerin' that I do when I run by myself in the woods. But damn, it sure was pretty. I'll admit, it was a very leisurely run. Have a great weekend!











8 comments:

Phil said...

Wow, great photos! Always love finding new trails in our own backyard!
pv

Danni said...

Secret trails! Nice!!! We've had rain all week but no snow. Though I think it snowed in the 'Fish. Anyhow, gorgeous photos as always! I will see you in less than a week!

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Hey Leslie! I met you thru Holly a while back. Not sure if you remember, but I was the geek at last fall's Moose Mountain who recognized you running around with the camera!

Hope you had a great weekend out on the trails! Wouldn't be May Long weekend in Alberta without a little snow, huh?

Anyhow - just wondering if you and Keith might be interested in a little run, oh, say as part of a Banff-Jasper relay team? Our team has had some injuries and a couple of folks have bailed. Would you be interested? If you are, could you send me a quick email? JLG1977@GMAIL.COM.
Thanks!
Jen

Journey to a Centum said...

Sean Meissner says hi! I listened to a presentation on ultra running he and Matt Hart did last week.

I wish you could have included some photos of spectacular scenery in this post. Oh wait you did!

I discovered some new trails last weekend too! That sounds much better than I was lost for a while.

Cheers!

JeffO said...

Those photos are so gorgeous I almost don't want winter to end.

CoyoteGirl said...

OMG - So beautiful Leslie!

I love finding secret trails. It's like a treasure hunt.

Leslie said...

Hi Phil, nice work on your first adventure race! I'm really surprised you didn't see any bears out there.

Hi Danni! I CAN'T WAIT!!

Yo, JGo. Sign me up! If I'm going to run on asphalt once this year, the Icefields Parkway is the place to do it. Do I get a hard nasty leg? I'm bringing my camera though, and I'm going to take looooots of photos.

Hi Eric,
I *heart* Meissner and Hart. But don't tell my husband. Oh wait, he *hearts* them, too!!

JeffO-
I'm down with winter ending. It's been 7 months. I'm ready!!

Hi CG,
The PROBLEM with secret trails is...
How do you tell someone where you are going?!?