The Silent Hill

the Niagara Escarpment is a beautiful, peaceful place to be. especially in the winter, and especially at night. for reasons yet unknown, my good homie Kevin and i only ever choose nights when it's well below freezing to head out long after midnight with our camera gear and tripods.


we hit many spots that night, using his car as transportation between. by 2 in the morning we had parked the car on a road out by Brock University, and walked up to the Bruce Trail head at the top of the hill. we chanced the snowy trail and slightly slippery slopes in the dark to get up to the top for the best view. light pollution from the city below reflecting off the clouds, then off the snow on the ground makes it possible to see well enough at night for a winter hike.. and makes for some interesting photographs.


once at the top we set all our gear down for a moment of quiet reflection. looking down upon the city it seemed so distant.. no specific sounds were distinguishable, nothing but a quiet slur of white noise of muffled friday night traffic. it's so peaceful up there in the woods. no signs of other people, wind blockage from the tall stands of trees.. a good friend and some herbs to share. what more could i ask for?


of course, the excursion has re-sparked the urge to go winter camping. it's so quiet out there at night in the winter, so still. i'm hoping to get a chance before all the snow is gone and the bugs return. another awesome thing about sleeping outside in the winter- no mosquitoes!

My Favorite Time For Walkin'

I am naturally a winter person.  I love everything about it, especially walking in it.  There is nothing that makes me feel more like a kid, more quickly, than looking out the window in the morning to see the ground covered with freshly fallen snow.  To walk in it though, I love to walk in the snow at night.  I can close my eyes right now and picture it perfectly.  Large, heavy snowflakes falling before the backdrop of a dark sky.  I especially enjoy it when the ground is already fairly well covered so that all the surrounding noise is dampened between the snow falling and the snow already lying.  With the wind relatively calm and the air feeling slightly warmer, I could walk for miles.

And that is all I could think about this morning upon awakening to see the snow falling outside my bedroom window.  My thought on walking for the day.