A lovely day on the Front

Katie braced against the Front's winds

That's Old Man of the Hills and Walling Reef behind this old man

The peak we want to name "Guthrie"

It’s been warm and windy and the backcountry snow is suffering from not having been fed.
We found it icy enough during our lunar ski on Wednesday that we decided against risking it again Saturday.
It had been awhile since we had been to the Rocky Mountain Front, so we traveled to the Blackleaf country outside of Bynum for a short dayhike.
We drove within a mile of Blackleaf Canyon where deep, melting snow blocked us.
A mild wind from the west warmed us as we walked toward the canyon.
We didn’t make it, but enjoyed the spectacular scenery in all directions.
Much of the Front is fairly clear of snow because of the winds.
I’m hoping that this is not the beginning of a repeat of last year’s weather where our wonderful snow melted away during an unusually warm March, setting us up for a summer of fires.
I was also surveying the area to make some improvements in directions to Muddy Creek Falls for my Front hiking guidebook.
We stopped to take some photos of some of the most gorgeous scenery in the lower 48.