I may have mentioned in passing that it has been dry. Well. It has been very dry. The last wetting rain (.10 inches of moisture) in Castle Valley was at Thanksgiving: We haven't had rain or snow in nearly 70 days. Winter is normally the wet season so it is not a good start to the year.
When the dry, but cold, weather allows, I've been doing some work on ponderosa pine in Joes Valley. Today, I invited VSO to join me in the valley so that she could check out an alcove that may have been used in archaic times. Later, after I complained that she was interested only in anthropology, she also helped me with a tree.
The forecast was dire, but the reality has been reasonable: The north winds are steady at 25 MPH and the temperatures have been mid-teens (with corresponding wind chills of 3F to 6F), but if you pull up the hood and keep moving, it's not too bad. Beyond that, the sunsets are beautiful and the trails are quiet.
It hasn't necessarily been warm this winter, but we've generally avoided the bitter cold weather. Until now. The forecast is for single digits overnight and daytime wind chills below zero. When I am working in the woods, I often need bare fingers (to get the core in the straw for one), so I decided to stock up on some field data yesterday—the last warm day. I found this pine in Joes Valley. It is 120 feet tall and 44 inches in diameter. A monster for this part of the world. Unfortunately, it took 10 tries for the cutting screw on the increment borer to catch. I got just one core.
I've walked the Double Dog on a few occasions before when I've had a little extra time. I planned to do it on Thursday, too, but got to the road in the dark and decided not to complete the full north loop. Yesterday, I started a little earlier and finished in about 90 minutes. I thought it was at least five miles, but I tracked it and came back with 4.8. Actually, when you track it, Avenza gives you all the details: 471 feet of elevation gain (and loss); 1:32:28 total moving time; 3.14 MPH average moving speed; 19.16 minute/mile. Slow for a runner, but fast for a walker I guess.
