Jan 26, 2012 Baranof
34° SNOW, 31° SNOW 6†SNOW
We wonder if the snow will ever stop. It’s hard to achieve any sense of satisfaction when evidence of your former day’s work is constantly being erased. The shovel has become my extra appendage. I felt low on energy and motivation today and shoveled sluggishly. The radio station in Sitka warned the area of a thundersnow.†We weren’t exactly sure what that meant, but it sounded cool. In Baranof, the snow came in the form of dippin’ dots,†styrofoam like pellets which fell into great relief on top of a light powder. A thick layer of slush lay underneath it all. We’ve started to develop our own snow terminology like the Eskimos. Baranof lies in a unique snow-filled pocket and our weather reality often fails to reflect the outside forecasts. John had told us that, as a general rule, we can quadruple the projected snowfall for Eastern Baranof & Southern Admiralty Islands (our closest point of VHF weather reference). Well, this was certainly proving to be true. After lunch we set off on our snowshoes and packed a trail through the woods up to the lake. Due to the heightened snow levels, we were able to scout a new route. The change of scenery was welcome and we were able to appreciate being here for such an awesome, quintessential winter.