"Heavy Snow Predicted. Plan Ahead"

 That was on the overhead sign as we came back from Montrose yesterday afternoon.  They were right.  We had 5.5 inches of snow when I got up this morning, and it snowed/rained/sleeted until early afternoon.  I'm only able to measure the snow, but with that 5.5 inches, we are now at 185 inches for the season.  

In talking to locals about this past winter, everyone says what a tough winter it was.   It had little to do with the amount of snow and mostly to do with the lack of sun.  Last year, the document on which I kept track of snow events was one and a half pages.  This year, it was three.  

The extended forecast for the next few weeks is above-freezing temperatures at night and more than 50% chance of precipitation every day.  We're seeing more wildlife signs up here, coyote and bear poop on the road, foxes screeching at night, but no bear signs.  The fish were delivered before we even knew it had happened, so no pictures, but they are a hungry bunch as I go out once a day to throw feed in the water.  

I was invited to hike the lower portion of Sutton Mine Trail, starting at the trailhead on Camp Bird Road.  I've never done it before, using Veenstras' trail to meet up with Sutton Mine, but I've heard a lot about how steep it is.  We made it to the Ouray Overlook - not to be confused with our overlook - and had to turn around there because of snow.  We had already hiked through three snow fields, and it was just getting worse.  Even though I've been working out hard at the gym, I was embarrassed how many times I had to stop and catch my breath.  My hiking partners were so kind, but it was still pretty humiliating.  I have a lot of work to do.