Valentine's at Raspberry Ridge

The top right corner in the photo below was to be our destination for Valentine's Day! It's called Raspberry Ridge Look-Out. We only made it 2/3 of the way there, covering only half of the elevation and that took us three hours. The weather was perfect with blue sky, sunshine and the temperature was around -2 C. We left our snowshoes at home today and just brought hikers with icers and stabilizers. This area, on a southward face, does not normally get as much snow as other places but the snow was a little too much for us today. The constant climb in snow that was knee deep was hard work. When we got high enough above the treeline, we decided to make that our lunch stop, sit for awhile, enjoy the scenery and share snacks in the spirit of Valentine's Day.

I decorated my backpack and a couple of us handed out Dora the Explorer Valentine Cards.

After lunch and a well deserved rest from our three hour, four kilometer uphill climb, it was time to head back down. The shared sugary treats helped in making the return trip a blast! Below, I blasted off that rock behind me and I'm just coming down for a landing. I did a few rolls in the snow once I landed.

As it turns out, this is a "berry" themed long weekend! Monday will be snowshoeing at Blueberry Hill. Now, if only I could give the seriousness to running that I have been giving to frolicking in the mountains, I would be all set!