I hefted the pack, settled it in place, and moved forward.
Before long, I started to hear slight slapping noises as little frozen pellets struck the shoulders and sleeves of my nylon anorak. There weren’t a lot of them, and they melted immediately. Even so, it was frozen rain. It was a warning.
I looked at the red pack on Daniel’s back, wondering if he’d stop and say something like, Gee, maybe we shouldn’t do this today. But he didn’t stop. He didn’t turn around. He just reached behind his neck, found the edges to his jacket hood, and flipped it over his navy wool hat. I did the same, though my hat was orange.
I was glad when the Piper Trail reached the woods. I didn’t yet know that trees would offer their own challenges to my progress.
Almost as soon as Daniel and I left that snow-cru
