Wildcats with Gale Straub, 3/5/2018

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Wildcat A and Wildcat D

3/5/2018

19 Mile Brook Trail, Wildcat Ridge Trail, ski slopes

About 9.5 miles round-trip

Around 3050 feet of elevation gain 

We hiked with Gale Straub on Monday!  She is the Founding Editor-In-Chief of the podcast She Explores.  She has interviewed many remarkable women from different backgrounds and locations.  After the hike, we interviewed her for GraniteGals, and she interviewed us for She Explores!  We are honored and excited to be featured on her podcast.

We began our hike later than we usually do, so, for the first time in months, we started our ascent after the sun had already risen.

Turning around for a picture...

Photo by Trish Herr

Hiking up...

We got to the intersection and took a break to drink some liquids.

The sky was glowing, emanating white light with hints of blue. 

The tree limbs and pine needles were covered in snow.

Continuing up...

We didn't see views due to clouds covering the mountains and concealing blue sky.

We had already put on Microspikes before we reached the slide, so going across was a simple task.

Mom and Gale coming up behind Sage and me...

Sage leading the way...

Sage did an amazing job leading!  She is recovering quickly (she had pneumonia last month).  Here are some summit pictures from Wildcat A...

Photo by Trish Herr

Gale Straub took a picture of Sage and me on the summit.

Photo by Trish Herr

Photo by Trish Herr

Photo by Trish Herr

 We still had no views.

Photo by Trish Herr

After Wildcat A, we put on our snowshoes and continued along the ridge to Wildcat D.

Sage was a trooper and led very well! 

The trail kept feeling softer and softer.

There was a slippery, steep part of the trail that Sage struggled to get over.  Once she succeeded in climbing over that section of trail, she decided to continue to the summit of Wildcat D (we were close to the top) on her knees, since her snowshoes were frustrating to use going up steep bits of trail.  It was hilarious, and she actually managed to move quickly!

She has never hiked on her knees before, but it worked for her on this section of trail.  New experiences! 

Gale got a little stuck in the same place Sage had struggled; that spot of trail was slippery and steep, so it was difficult to climb up that stretch.

Bright colors...

Sage somehow managed to get far ahead of us on her knees!  How does she go so fast?

The pine needles were caked with snow.

Sage kept hiking on her knees! 

We got to Wildcat D!  Sage gets tired more easily than she used to because of her past pneumonia, but she is recovering well and is able to do more and more.  

Absolutely no views, oh well.

All of us chilling on the summit...

Photo by Trish Herr

Photo by Trish Herr

Coming down Wildcat D...

Hiking down the ski slopes... 

Only when we were going down the ski slopes of Wildcat D did the clouds start to part and reveal some views.

The trees were gorgeous to look at, though.  The faraway ones were all different shades of gray, and the trees close to us were white.

This clump of snowy trees was quite beautiful.

These pictures show how white the nearby trees looked.

A forest of celestial white snow...

Purity...

Back at the parking lot...

Looking at where we came from...

We had a wonderful time hiking with Gale Straub.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to meet her and be the interviewee for an episode of She Explores, as well as get to interview her for GraniteGals.  It was so exciting!