Without a doubt one of the best channels ever launched on TV is the Weather Channel. I love the weather and that can be a challenge living in the desert. Our forecast for about 350 days a year is “sunny, warm and clear,” kind of grim for a weather junkie. So it was with great delight when a cold front was moving through, promising us clouds and rain here, and snow in the mountains.
I eagerly tracked the system, checking weather television, weather radio and internet. With a day off in the near future my wife and struck a plan for the winter storm. We were going to drive north to the Mogollon Rim (home of the rarely sighted Mogollon Monster) and enjoy a day in the snow.
Expedition day arrived, sunny, warm and clear in the desert, but it didn’t slow us down. We had packed our snow gear and clothing the previous night and hit the road to adventure. Driving north I became a little concerned with the weather, you guessed it, sunny, warm and clear, the promised desert storm and rain hadn’t materialized. As a matter of record not even the clouds had made an appearance. We stopped in Payson for sustenance and struck out on the final drive, elevation change from 5,000 feet to the top of the Rim at about 7,500 feet.
Even at this point our drive was still a matter of concern; the best we saw was patchy snow in some shaded spots. Rounding the last curve on 260 we were rewarded: as soon as we hit the top there was snow everywhere!
Parking at the entrance to Willow Springs Lake we geared up and struck out. It’s been years since I’ve hiked in snow. Growing up in Chicago I was in the Boy Scouts, in a troop that did year round campouts. Winter campouts were scheduled at places that had cabins. As I got a little older, my friend Bob and I elected to shun the cabins and camp in the snow. We had it down to an art, being able to keep warm in Midwest winters, before the miracle fabrics and gear of today.
We could hear the snow crunching beneath our boots, the wind whipping swirls of snow into phantom patterns, a crystal blue sky and not another soul in sight. Sometimes we were on top of the snow, sometimes it was to our knees. After about 40 minutes we made it to the lake.
Windswept, white, deserted and cold, the only thing we forgot was to bring a thermos of hot chocolate to enjoy once we arrived. Next time for sure. We enjoyed the quiet, cold, beauty and solitude, but alas, had to turn back and return to the desert that day.
Three cheers for weather!
