Snowshoe hare tracks bound deep in the snow next to the trail above Krause Creek. They criss-cross it, run along side it and disappear into the trees.

The snow is light and muffles the sound of movement.

It’s the first snowshoe and cross-country ski trip of the season for the Swan Rangers hiking group. Keith Hammer, who started the weekly hiking group in 2005, said they usually are snowshoeing and cross-country skiing by mid- to late December.

“This year, it’s like we’re at least a month late,” Hammer said. “There’s a lot of trails that up to a few days ago were bare.”

Read the full Bigfork Eagle article.

Bigfork Eagle photo by Camillia Lanham