The blizzard that buried the Northeast this weekend left a mere 4 or 5 inches of wet, sticky snow in our neck of the woods. Sunday was bright, sunny and seasonable, with only one hitch: the blizzard socked in all the nearby state parks where I was thinking of going hiking.

Hanging Rock NC

Here’s a shot of the peak at Hanging Rock State Park, just up the road from Winston-Salem. The roads were passable in the daytime; things get interesting overnight, when all the snowmelt in the roads freezes.

Ice is the bane of Triad travelers all winter (which, thankfully, is pretty much tapped out by the end of February). It’s what forces parks people to close up shop on days when some of us would really prefer they let us in.

I can’t see the hiking picture improving till March; I might get some trail time in, but the ice has a way of ruling the day.

Till then I’ll have to find other stuff to blog about. Heck, if you’ve put up with me thus far, you might as well stop in now and again.