Those of you who know T and I know that we are in home-buying limbo, and have been for months...or at least you know that we moved! (We are now living in the house we hope to buy, if the Marshfield Planning Commission will let us...the topic of a different conversation, perhaps.) And in the spirit of backyard adventuring, we have been skiing in our yard - which brings a huge smile to my face - and building a little pumptrack we call the dinorsaur's back on the piles left behind by the snow plow. But last night we branched from our literal backyard to one a bit more figurative: we hiked Spruce Mountain in Plainfield, which T had never been up. And we hiked it at night, in true Sarah and Tristan Fashion.
Spruce Mountain is a splendid little hike, which I can't wait to see in the lush green Vermont summer, and it includes some of the gnarliest fields of solid ice I've ever encountered on a trail in Vermont. Likely the most important pieces of gear we had on us were our Kahtoola Microspikes. If you like to hike in winter, and you don't yet have a pair of these, they are highly worth it. They weigh next to nothing and don't take up much space, so it is no big deal to pack them on any outing, and they effortlessly grip right into the ice, if you need them to. With these little puppies on your tootsies, you can walk straight up the ice in solid confidence. Before your next winter outing, scoot down to Onion River Sports in downtown Montpelier (or to your neighborhood gear shop - remember to keep those guys in business!). 
And with these - in confidence - enjoy your next outing into the beautiful, wonderful, challenging but rewarding Vermont winter woods. Happy Trails!
