Frosty Mornings

Fluctuating within the same twenty degree range all year long, the maritime city where I live has an extremely moderate climate. Just as it's unusual to break seventy degrees, a wintertime frost is equally rare. Lately, it has been the latter. Glorious frost on those crisp mornings, I know that this is as close as I'll get to snow. Since the lack of cloud cover is to blame for the sub-freezing temperatures, these days are also sunny. Perfect. If I'm going to have a snow-free winter, sunshine and sweater weather is an acceptable substitute.

When it rains, I retreat to the shelter of the forest. I run through the trees, splash through the mud, and revel in the fact that I'm guarded from the elements. On sunny days, it's the opposite. I head for the coast, for the sunshine, and soak it up while it lasts. My mood lifts instantly.

Daily Runs:

Many of my runs this week have been on the coastal trail. While I'm still in recovery mode, I've begun adding more mileage but keeping the pace gentle as my body rebuilds. My hip has been quieting down since the marathon.

During the off season, I like to experiment with cross training. Most often this means hiking.

Hiking:
Lost Coast Headlands was the perfect short hike. We had only two hours free on Saturday morning, so Matt and I chose to do a quick hike down from the coastal bluffs to the beach.

With recent King Tides earlier in the week, the water was especially high even though we weren't out at high tide. Down the south-facing hillside, it was both warm and protected from that persistent north wind. Mooing cows on the opposite hillside provided a unique accompaniment to our coastal hike.

Crossing Fleener Creek is always an adventure. Each time I visit, the arrangement of logs is a little different. New trees had been added since my last visit, which is typical in the winter.

Then we hit the beach. The sand was more compact in the winter and I spent less time sinking in and taking careful steps to avoid sand in my shoes. The Humboldt coastline really is the best on a sunny winter day.

I dress pretty much the same way when I go to the beach in the summer too.

After retracing our steps back up to the car, it was time for lunch. Firing up the stove, we enjoyed a bit of homemade baguette and mushroom soup. Delicious food always pairs well with a good view.

Could there be anything better than a chilly hike in the sunshine? There is! A cozy night by the fire with tea and a good book is pretty great.

Or sub the tea for a kitty.

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Are you more likely to go outside on sunny days in the winter even though they're often chillier than normal? What do you like to do on the shortest, coldest days of the year?