Coming to work today and my car told me it was -21 degrees outside. I didn't think there would be many hardy hikers today. There were 6 counting myself. 3 guys and 3 gals. Saw lots of cool things. Trails were snow covered and all the streams were frozen. Great hike! If your going to hike in this cold, go prepared. Wool is wonderful. Wool socks and mittens, scarf, down coat, insulated pants, hat that covers your ears. And definitely wear extra traction on your boots.
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| Guess who? This is Ron |
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| From the left: Glen, Peggy, Terry, Jan and Ron. We are ready to go! |
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| The "BOOT" |
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| On our way to Council Overhang |
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| The path going into Ottawa Canyon. You can see the waterfall in the background |
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| Crunchy ice trails. Wear your Yak-trax or Katoohlas |
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| Bonus Waterfall in Ottawa Canyon |
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| Behind Ottawa Canyon |
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| Ice formation up close on the main icefall of Ottawa Canyon |
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| It is amazing to be able to walk all around the icefall. Still Ottawa Canyon |
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| Looking out of Ottawa Canyon |
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| I love this photo of Ottawa Canyon. From the photo, everyone else does also |
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| Here and there are holes in the ice to the flowing creek |
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| Kaskaskia Canyon |
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| These little ice flower icicles were hanging everywhere. LOVE IT! Hard to photograph |
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| Behind Kaskaskia icefall. Incredible! |
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| More ice flowers |
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| Council Overhang from the lower trail |
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| Wedding Cove - this is right off of the Ottawa Canyon parking lot |
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| Peggy and all her frost. |
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| Once we hiked Ottawa/Kaskaskia Canyon, I moved my car to hike Illinois Canyon. Everyone else walked the "Swamp" trail. |
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| Bonus ice fall going into Illinois Canyon |
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| This little guy didn't want to go into the canyon. He did tell us to say hi to his friend who moved on to see the icefall. |
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| Crossing the first stream. All streams were frozen today. |
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| Crossing number 2, frozen |
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| Crossing number 3, frozen |
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| Another bonus frozen waterfall in Illinois Canyon |
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| Going up to the Illinois Canyon Icefall |
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| We walked back on the frozen stream. You can't get very far, but it certainly is a treat! |
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| Illinois Canyon. This is as far as you can go. |
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| He didn't want to join his friend that we seen earlier. He loves Illinois Canyon |
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| Time for a snow angel! |
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| Yes I am 57 years old and still love doing snow angels. |
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| Here is my snow angel. It is what it is. Hard to see! |
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| Bonus ice fall coming out of Illinois Canyon |
I will leave you with this: To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake, it is necessary to stand out in the cold.
Good for you brave hikers! Too cold for me. The pictures are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures of a memorable hike!
ReplyDelete