View from the Mountain: Warmth hasn't made it north yet

Yesterday Kevin Myatt from the Roanoke Times had a post entitled, "Let's just say it: Winter is over." Of course you have to read the post to get to complete story which is "Winter is over for SW Virginia."

The temperature seems to be stuck in the low thirties this morning in Roanoke, so the timing on the post went more with yesterday's warm temperatures than it did with this morning's cold.

The photo to the right was taken near Swansboro, NC which is close to Emerald Isle. It gives me a feeling a warmth even when the temperatures are a little cool. Kevin is probably right about winter being over in the Southeast. The northern part of the country is still very cold and might keep us a little cooler than expected.

In fact as winter was being declared dead, the Washington area and Northern Virginia were receiving snow which is still having an impact this morning as the article, "Icy Conditions Cause School Closings, Delays," in today's Post indicates.

If we go a little farther north, we find that Toronto is still recovering from an early March storm. In fact the CN Tower, the world tallest building, had to have ice chipped off of it by two climbers last night according to a story in the Toronto Star. That's just what I want to do, hang 1,500 feet in the air and chip away at ice at 11 pm at night in the freezing cold.

In sub-zero temperatures, the pair chipped off loose ice in small pieces, while leaving a still-significant slab that it is hoped will melt safely as temperatures warm up closer to the weekend.

CN Tower officials confirmed the feat in a press release, explaining "the quiet of late night was chosen for the work because there would be fewer people in the area and therefore any potential risk to the public would be minimized."

Still I would probably rather do than be in the hospital worrying about losing some toes due to frostbite. A student from the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton got lost while hiking in the Fundy National Park. As you look at the map of New Brunswick, please understand that you are seeing almost all of the roads with the possible exception of some logging roads and dirt roads.

According to the reports, the student was lost for two days in what is termed "a pristine wilderness area" when wind chill values were as low as -33 Fahrenheit. That is another thing I want to put on my list, going hiking when it's hard to even keep a house warm much less a human body in the middle of a wilderness. The Fundy National Park as this map shows doesn't have an overabundance of roads. Even zooming down with the Google map shows that this is an isolated spot. It is especially isolated during a cold March in Canada where the temperatures have been around zero more than one would want.

As someone who has worked outside when the temperature is -40 with lots of wind, I can tell you that being outside at those kinds of temperatures is not something anyone should do for fun. It's just too dangerous. Fortunately the student was able to use a cell phone and get in touch with his dad in Florida.

According to the Toronto Star story it was fluke that he picked up a cell tower across the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. This story would not have had a happy ending without that fortunate connection.

The signal was weak, a tenuous link at best, and it was a fluke the phone even worked because "coverage is sporadic" in the area, said Cpl. Roger Gillies, the thermal imaging specialist on board.

There are better times to explore the Fundy National Park. There's even an accessible trail close by, but they're closed until winter leaves the north country. It seems they open May 18. That's actually a pretty good estimate of when there is little chance of snow in eastern Canada. The first time we saw our New Brunswick farm was May 5th, 1973, and there was still fresh snow on the ground.

There is still wilderness out there, which is wonderful to enjoy and explore, but carelessness can result in tragedy.

I think I'll just enjoy Canada through digital photographs until summer rolls around, and it gets too hot along the coast of Carteret County where the Southern Outer Banks make for beautiful beaches and warm water. After I cook myself a little this summer, a trip north might seem like a good idea. It's about time for Canadians to start planning their trips south so that can enjoy a Virginia and North Carolina spring. I did a pretty good guide for them a couple of years ago, "Calling All Canadians, Especially from the Maritimes." I think we can promise little risk of frostbite over the next couple of month.

I would like to get up to Canada this summer, I've found a great camera for scenic views and to take pictures of homes in my new real estate career. It would be nice to try it out on some of my old stomping grounds and a few places I never visited like The Fundy National Park.

This is the link to the post on my new camera, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2.