Missed Opportunities

This post is inspired by the heartbreaking loss suffered yesterday by the Packers in the NFC championship game against the Giants. I know what you're thinking, "Get over it. It's a football game."

Before you close your browser window, hear me out:

The Packers lost the game because they didn't capitalize on missed opportunities. Lately, Ryan and I have been talking about missed opportunities in our own lives. For example, during the last two years of law school and puppy parenting, we failed go skiing or get outside much in the winter. Skiing is something that we loved to do together (ok, Ryan is a snowboarder not a skier), and we probably could have gone skiing during the last couple of years, but we let other excuses get in the way. Downhill skiing/snowboarding is expensive--our gear is out-of-date, we would have to board Soma, and lift tickets cost about $100 for the two of us.

So this year we are making a change. We bought snowshoes in order to get outside with no excuses. While the initial investment for snowshoes is a little steep, they require minimal maintenance and we can drive to any trail coated with the white stuff to enjoy a few hours of exercise and scenery.

I guess the bottom line is that excuses always result in missed opportunities, and missed opportunities always end in disappointment and regret. That's why we went to Mount Rainier National Park to snowshoe along the White River (a river I will probably be working to protect during the next year or two). It was a gorgeous day with clear skies and amazing visibility. During the drive, we saw Mount Rainier with large snow plumes blowing off the summit. The plumes were so large that we could see them all the way from Seattle, or about 2 hours north. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place!

We entered the Park on snowshoes, which allowed us to take a picture of the boundary sign.

A 90-foot ice fall just begging for an ice climber.
Ok, so I exaggerate -- this was just a trailside frozen trickle of water that was about 3-feet tall.

A family of stumps with snowy winter hats.

Action photo of Ryan and Soma on the trail.
Sorry that the poop bag is front and center in this shot!

The upper reach of the White River.
In case you didn't click on the link above, the White river gets its name from its cloudy appearance courtesy of the Emmons Glacier on Mount Rainier.

Lunchtime!

More views of the White River.

The Trail.
Actually, this is a busy park road in the summer.

Icy Whiskers

Snow and ice cling to the bare branches of deciduous trees.