When I set off, I discovered that when bushwhacking it was much more difficult to find and keep in view the points I was going toward. Everything looked very samey when smeared with snow.

Even so, it didn’t take long to get to the forest road that leads back to the trail. Some helpful neighborhood deer had been using the forest road, making it very easy to follow. I just had to watch out in case they decided to leave the road at any point.

In all, it took me twenty minutes to get to the trail, which was pretty good going.

I was sure I could see where the trail ran up the hill to the west. There was the downed tree that you had to skirt around, but the trail didn’t look right beyond that. Off I went, only to be blocked by another fallen tree. I spent a short time wandering around before deciding to go in what looked like the right direction, and pretty soon, I was confident I was on the trail.

Staying on the trail wasn’t easy. The snow weighed down the scrubby trees’ boughs, effectively hiding the trail’s route and dumping lots of snow on both me and my pack. The only indication of where the trail might be was the slightest indentation in the snow.

I lost the trail two or three times. Interestingly, where I often lose the trail even when the conditions are good. There must be a few little Bermuda Triangles along this part of the trail!

The good news was that the snow was deep enough to make walking over ice and rocks much easier than it had been the day before. Out in the open glades, it was easier to follow the trail’s open gap in the grasses. I got that idea for spotting the trail in the snow right!