A walk in the fog

 

2015 is an odd winter here on Roundtop Mtn. It trudges along, overcast skies and cold temperatures. Then it warms up for a day, followed by something falling out of the sky for a day, followed by a bitterly cold sunny day with brutal wind. Then it’s back to a string of overcast, and, like today, often foggy days.

Yesterday was the warm day, and today is the something falling out of the sky day. Tomorrow will be the windy day. I did manage to get out for a walk with Skye yesterday. I’ve worn my Yak-trax virtually every day since sometime in December, and at the moment I’ve gone through 1.5 pairs of them. I’ve just ordered another pair that I hope will see me through the rest of this winter.
 

The reason I am breaking them is because of days like yesterday. Where I walked was bare ground, muddy ground, ice, snow and slush. I think it’s the bare ground that does them in, but I can’t walk on the ice, snow and slush without them. I say I’ve gone through 1.5 pairs of them this winter but that’s a bit misleading.
 

I started the winter with the pair from last winter, and one of them broke, so I got a second pair. Then a different one broke, leaving me with a mismatched pair. Then this morning I noticed the rubber on one of them had broken again. So this morning I ordered another pair, and will soon toss the broken one but will keep its mate as a spare. They last longer in winters where the ground is uniformly ice- or snow-covered. Bare patches are the worst.