Not the winter hiking scene I wanted, but an Adirondack Mountain Club photo of hikers in warmer times. I just had to post a photo, and now that I'm an AMC member, I figured they wouldn't mind.

Annie's down with the flu and Sophie's lab pal is keeping his mistress company, so we had to do our Thursday adventure on our own today. I packed Sophie into the car with my pack full of water, hot chocolate, and dog biscuits, and headed toward the Bartman Trailhead. It took us twenty minutes of driving to get there, which irks me no end because it's only about four miles from our door. But in the winter, you just can't get there via a direct route, because some of the mountain roads are not maintained.

When we got to the trailhead, I was happy to see that snowmobiles had packed the trail down, so I left my snowshoes in the car and took only the pack and the Yaktrax. I strode out with the determination to make it all the way to Fish Pond. After 30 minutes of hiking, at the turn-off pointing the trail to the pond, the snowmobile tracks ended. Rats! No packed-down trail to the ponds.

I took a deep breath and tested the depth of the snow. About eight to ten, and in some places twelve inches deep. The trail marker stated that it's 1.2 miles to Fish Pond. This distance doesn't sound like much, but over tough, steep terrain and considering that snow depth, it can take forever.

But I was going to get there today no matter what. I wished I had my snowshoes at first, but when the trail got rocky, and when I discovered that the rocks were ice-coated, I realized I had more maneuverability in the Yaktrax.

On both sides of me were steep ridges. The sun shone dimly through gray clouds in the southern sky. Once again, I noted the absence of animal tracks. I don't understand why I've seen so few; after all, it hasn't been a hard winter.

We marched along, going downhill through a frozen streambed. Down, down we went, and with each step I was reminded that on the way back we'd have a big ascent. Finally, I saw a huge open space through the trees--Fish Pond! But there the trail seemed to end. It didn't, of course. It's supposed to continue on past Fish Pond, but, whether it was because of two enormous trees down across the trail, or some inability of mine to detect where it continued, I don't know, but we couldn't find it despite an intensive search. However, we did walk out to the pond through a dense thicket. Sophie ran around and around once we got there, luxuriating in the chance to run freely in open space. We didn't walk out far because the snow was very deep due to drifting.

What amazed me about the site were the hills--three of them that surrounded the pond. All this wilderness, and there was no one, not a soul anywhere. It was an awe-inspired moment for a woman from greater Boston. There was not the sound of traffic, planes, or jets--no sign that anyone was alive on the planet. I loved that.

We climbed back, and I was grateful for the hot chocolate, not for its warmth, but for the calories. All told, we were hiking (and I'm talking aerobic, sweat-making physical exertion here) for over 2 and a half hours. A woman (and her dog) get pretty hungry doing that. I was ravenous when I got home.

I've got to call the forest ranger who hikes or skis out this way about once a month. How do I continue on that trail?