Fully suited and with headlamps ablaze, we nervously ducked under the fallen tree and started walking up the snow-covered access road. Our walking sticks punched through the snow and into the mud while the wind howled through the trees above us. Our hiker train rubbernecked once we finally reached the trailhead parking lot; another journey milestone achieved.

…each a glinting tail
across the beams
for the valley, evaporating with navy speed.