Water Freezes ... Who'da Thunk It

I went for a hike at Indian Cave today.  Thinking back, I realized that this was the first time since I moved here that I hiked in the winter.  I've done city walks in the winter but, until today, I never went to a trail.

A snow frosted trail in Indian Cave S.P.

When I started it was around 15℉ (-9.4℃)*.  I'd hiked a couple miles when I got thirsty.  When I hike with a backpack, like I did today, I use a 2 liter water bladder.  I grabbed the drinking tube, gave it a suck, and got ... nothing.  Examining the tube closely I realized the water in the tube was completely frozen.

A view of the Missouri River from the top of a ridge.

Farther down the trail I stopped to have a snack and rest my legs.  I pulled the water bladder out of the pack and found it not frozen so I got my fill of water.  The tube thawed out a little while later as the day warmed up.

I'll have to keep this in mind as I do more cold weather hikes.  If I want water to drink I'll have to forgo the bladder for bottles I can stick in my coat to keep thawed.

I ended up doing just over 9 miles (14.5 km) with about 2,000 ft (609.6 m) elevation change.  I have to admit, with the 35 lb (15.9 kg) pack, I was a bit pooped at the end of the hike.

* This isn't the coldest I've been out hiking.  I once snowshoed in -5℉ (-20.5℃).  I got some awesome pictures on that snowshoe.  It was magical.