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.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKTuSIlttmbEGcGNzUzKJt4z_CCP-0_dz9M7j7o9ZDN8h_EkWMbaWTnnC2KPuMGuVdEUkitSdbHFGKgvMDBgWje35Xgm17pwOa-50_yQwtD5dWlIcJsLXwpAy8gMUwgL3iPKYOXCusGtj8/s640/2018-11-10+Indian+Cave+Snow_002-WM.jpg) |
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.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptG-MgqTG_tL_XsbkzXd3mzGNfHrPmTFJkDgF9j6zgB8ZDu9OUa52VnFMkcLRNwy_z0vfZfh7SXYVcAuXBxtyu78HrtCtP-F-roVzCvM-GjD0cK0P4uDMHttr6pkFAmpMnvsRcqd20rSi/s640/2018-11-10+Indian+Cave+Missouri+River-WM.jpg) |
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.
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