Snow. Again. And sleet....

...and rain, hail and icing and snow again. All with a bitterly cold, strong wind. And another 19km of walking. I feel stronger every day.
After walking in our local forest with my wife and our dogs she, and the dogs, drove home and I walked around the Naardermeer, a natural lake/swamp and Holland's first nature reserve, est.1901.



After a pinkish sunrise the sky was soon overcast. Snow was predicted at the end of the morning. It was a few degrees below zero but felt much colder.

The walk around the Naardermeer is called 'Het Laarzenpad' (The Wellies Way) because parts of it go through pastures and wet areas. The pastures are trodden by cows and were frozen solid. Crossing it for 1km was more difficult than walking on a Scottish boulderfield. 

At 11.30am it started with sleet which turned into snow 20 minutes later. The wind was coming from the side but didn't bother me too much. I was comfy in my Paramo Alta I jacket and Goretex trousers.

 

 

The lake was frozen and the howling wind made beautifull patterns on the ice. The last stretch I walked straight into the wind but I made good progress despite the difficult circumstances. I arrived home at 13.00pm covering 19km in 3hrs45mins.