Ice, the Narrow Bridge

Conditions

6.1 mi · -4°C · clear. Started at 7:30a. Hard frost overnight. The bridge crossing at 3.2 miles was iced over completely — a thin translucent sheet over the planks, safe but slow. Crampons would have been useful.

Notes

Everything brittle. The snow from last week had refrozen into a crust that broke underfoot with a loud crack every few steps. The sound carries — nothing else moves when you’re making that much noise.

On the bridge: small tracks. Four-toed, light, heading west to east. Too small for a fox, too purposeful for a squirrel. I spent a few minutes on the bank trying to follow them into the brush and lost the trail. Left an identification in the log as unknown — mustelid, possibly mink given the wetland adjacent.

The clearing at the top was still in shadow when I arrived. The frost on the grass was intact — nobody had been there since it formed. That’s not unusual for a Tuesday in February. I sat for a while and then came down before my hands got too cold to grip properly.

Species log

• Unknown mustelid tracks (mink?), bridge crossing, heading E
• Black-capped chickadees (small flock, 6–8), active in the birch stand
• Common raven, overhead call, not sighted