Surrounding our cities are tens of thousands of hectares of forested lands.   Backroads penetrate into the bush everywhere.   Some are gravel roads used as transportation corridors, some are dirt roads used by ranchers and the forest industry, and some are juts rough routes that really don’t go very far.    A few are plowed and cleared in the winter, but the vast majority become snowed in and see little activity all winter.

When the hiking trails of the area become too snowed in, the double-track backroads become winter corridors into the forest,    Early in the winter season, we can continue to hike in our boots, just adding gaiters to keep the snow out.   As winter progresses, we turn to snowshoes or cross country skis.   The going is usually slow and the final destination is just a turn-around point but there is a special quality to these on-snow explorations:

• Watch for animal tracks in the snow.  Bring a guide to tracks along with you.
• The winter forest is a quiet place.   On milder days, you may see birds and squirrels, but on colder days, the woods are silent and still.
• The snow is soft and forgiving underfoot.   Head out in boots, or on snowshoes or cross country skis.  Each is a different experience.

Where are these winter corridors?   Well, they surround us, but there are no guidebooks or websites for them, so we will feature a few on this site over the winter.