But we already got very little snow this winter season and, therefore, the snow was almost gone after those rainy days. In addition, the small river that we cross with the dog teams was open. But thanks to my rubber boots I made it to the other side without getting wet.
But then the temperatures dropped again to minus twenty degrees and such a change in temperature is also quite common. A change in temperature of 15 to 20 degrees can happen all the time in winter. I couldn’t resist the blue sky and sunshine but had to go for a snowshoe walk with my dog Leif. In the beginning we took a path along the Langfjord (long fjord) which is frequently used by others as well. But when we headed up into the mountains, no tracks could be seen in the snow. The ascent isn’t very steep, but anyhow my old dog Leif was happy about every break we made.
While I was contemplating about the strange growing pattern of a birch tree, Leif discovered two ptarmigans. Of course they were flying away immediately but Leif had to examinate the place where they were sitting last anyhow. The track where the ptarmigans were coming from was clearly visible in the snow. Some hundred meters further on the track, we see another ptarmigan flying away and Leif was watching it for a very long time.
When we came up to the mountains, we both had a beautiful view over the fjord behind us and the mountainious landscape in front of us. Initially, I wanted to make a round trip over the mountains, but the small path was totally covered with snow. This would not be a problem for me walking with snowshoes, but most of the time Leif is going in front of me and that would tire him out very quickly.
Therefore, we go back to the Langfjord and we walk around a small peninsula instead. A comfortable chair is waiting there for a rest while there are long shadows of even small trees on the ice.
