Good times, bad times, you know I've had my share

It's been a busy week with plenty of hours available at work including some very rewarding work with a severely autistic child and I'm also looking after Hop Along Cassidy at home who is still confined to quarters. Luckily I was allowed a day off for good behaviour so I headed off into the mountains to scope out some possible sites for trying out my shiny new Laser Comp in the next couple of weeks (next weekend is out due to a weekend's cross country skiing way out east).

There's a real feel of spring in the air as you trawl through the outdoor blogs at the moment and here is no exception despite the stubborn snow above 400m. The snow is getting slushy underfoot and with daytime temps around 9C I doubt it will be around for long, certainly not here on the coast. It's getting easier moving around in the hills with the receding snow pack and as much as it's fun to rediscover familiar trails when the snow arrives it's just as refreshing to rediscover the hills as the snow retreats.

Not many people about today and a poor weather forecast was probably to blame for that as I sweated out my Powerstretch top in the Spring-like conditions. Once up onto the plateau however the wind picked up a windproof was needed to keep the chill at bay.

As fun as it was to be up in the clouds I was concerned that it felt a bit wet in my right boot, sodden in fact. There's been a couple of times recently that my sock has felt damp after wearing my Keen Targhee II's but today it was definitely a lot worse. Still, my wool socks kept me warm as long as I kept moving along, following the metal marker poles through the pea soup.

I stopped for lunch under the enormous telecommunications tower at the Ulriken cable car station. It was good to get out of the wind, have a couple of cheese sandwiches, some Danish marzipan and a warm coffee. I swapped my wet socks for fresh ones and awarded myself points for always carrying a spare pair, the feeling of dry socks is priceless on days like these.

I sent M a text to say I'd be home in a few hours and headed into the teeth of the wind and then down the rock step path below the cable car station. It was slippery underfoot and I cursed my boots less-than-stellar grip. First wet feet, then sending me flailing down the mountain side. I can see some shopping coming on.

On the way home I checked out one of the spots I intend to try camping at, marked it on my map then headed back down below the snow and into the forest. The clouds were starting to build up and M was probably getting hungry so I beat a hasty retreat, my right foot squelching with every step.