Recent Snowfall Totals

According to the NWS, the snowfall in the GNC on Saturday night into Sunday ranged from over 16 inches in Elka Park to about 4 inches in Cairo.  In my neck of the woods (literally, it is a neck of the woods), the actual total, measured by me with a yard stick stuck into the railing on the front deck, when it was all over was 8.75 inches.  But that was before I started talking about it.

When worried relatives called to check on the power situation, we minimized, "Oh - it was nothing.  Just a little over 6 inches - barely covered the driveway.  Nothing to worry about...we didn't even lose power."

But for friends calling from the Midwest, who always brag to me about how much snow they get and how rugged they are, I said, "Damn!  Pretty heavy snowstorm here for October.  Cold, windy -- I'd say we got about a foot, give or take an inch.  Was out shoveling by 7am so I could go out for some groceries.  Roads will be plowed soon, I guess", though the roads had been plowed hours ago.  We love our county plowmen.

Skier-friends starting checking in around noon, wondering if Hunter Mountain was opening for the weekend.  "Well, you can hike up and ski down if you like.  We got at least 14 inches - probably more at the summit.  Not too wet - not the usual Catskill Concrete. You can make some nice turns but bring your rock skis.  Fourteen inches of snow doesn't cover 15 inches of rock!"

The last person to call was a friend in the valley who wanted me to come down and help him move furniture.  "Gee, I'd love to, really, but we got over a foot-and-a-half of heavy, wet snow and the roads haven't been plowed or sanded yet.  Don't think I want to go down the mountain today - you know, there's still one lane out on 23A near Moore's Bridge. Sorry...why don't you call Jim from Palenville.  They hardly got any snow down there."

If you want a reliable weather report from a reliable source on the Mountaintop, you had better not call me.

Planted

The change of seasons is here and with it I noticed a change in the social scene - summer friends are gone and ski friends have not arrived.  Irene had a scattering effect too - friends have relocated (temporarily or longer), abandoned the mountaintop altogether, or died.  The GNC don't care, though - we adjust, not the mountains.

After eight years here, I understand now why the "real" locals consider so many good-intentioned full-timers "transient".  Folks arrive with the intention of becoming permanent residents, but they when they discover the full meaning of mountaintop living in the GNC, they have second thoughts.  After a season or two, they're down in the valley or back to the city or "out West".

Not me.  I'm staying.  I've survived extreme temperatures, 7-foot snowstorms, 20 consecutive days of rain, Irene and the weeks after her, power outages long, short and numerous, mosquitoes as big as tacos, spider bites, several varieties of poison weeds, backed-up septic tanks, dog fights, tax hikes, mud slides, road closures, noisy neighbors, no television, mail delivery, dry cleaner or Starbucks, nosy bears, clogged culverts, pump failures and maybe the worst of all, road kill skunk in the driveway.  If that doesn't chase you back to a junior-4 in a high-rise, nothing can.

Last night: clear skies, bright stars, full moon, slight breeze moving clean air, cool temps, fresh water running nearby, nature's sounds of silence, 600,000 acres of forever-wild forest for a back yard and no skunk.  If that doesn't plant you here, nothing can.