Monday, January 18, 2010

Snowshoe Cat

Mrrrrr Friends,

What a beautiful weekend it was here in the beauteous Adirondack Park! In the middle of winter, the temperatures reached 40 degrees F. It was super warm...I had Oom give me a good brushing to thin my very thick undercoat before we went out to hike each day.

We still had enough snow to go snowshoeing together...

Here, I am stretching and cleaning for our hike while I'm waiting for Oom. See the bits of blue sky!


After she got her new snowshoes on I had to do a thorough check.


The decks are very sturdy - a cat can warm his paws easily here. More importantly, the decks can be used as a springboard up the human leg when it's time to get out of the snow and take a break on Oom's shoulders - a real difficulty in deep snow.

I  made sure her bindings were done right.


And we were off! Oom blazing the trail and me following along.


Snowshoes are useful for an inquisitive, hiker-cat because they occasionally reveal cool stuff under the snow.


But for the most part, they simply make traveling easier, even when you're a purebred Wisconsin Snowcat made for snow travel. The snow thus far this season has been easy to punch through even to the expert paw. We haven't seen development of much pack - which improves conditions for furry guys like me strolling, hiking, and bounding about.

The snowy ice-hats were gone from the brook waters, though snow still covers the boulders.


This weekend thaw should help form a nice cold pack of what remains, and, if we get more snow as predicted, the conditions for a Snowcat should improve remarkably.

Snow pack is a pretty serious subject but to simply get a sense of the average snowpack temperature and density in your region - as well as snow fall data - go to this cool site. I recommend playing with the Google Earth link. I'm wishing for a colder snowpack temperature and depth, as well as more snow!

Today the temperatures have scuttled back down which is good, and Oom and I are watching the skies for flurries...