We didn’t see anyone else on this mornings walk across Gastineau Meadow. The slick ice that covers the access road must have discouraged other trail users. Aki had no problem on the ice. Her nails gave good purchase. My new grippers worked as well.

There was still a lot of snow on the meadows but some of it may melt during the forecasted rainstorm. We followed a snowshoe trail covered with hoar frost feathers and the tracks of wild animals going about their business. For some reason, superstition maybe, I avoid stepping on the tracks of a deer that recently walked down the trail. A young Sitka black tail who just survived her first hunting season made them. I stopped at the meadow’s edge where her tracks led into the forest. If she moved, Aki would have barked. But she didn’t panic. Held her ground. Maybe she and her future fawns will make it through a few more hunting seasons.