A clear, crisp sky. Cold, invigorating air. Perfect weather for a hike. Especially for first-timers eager for a good first impression. Sunday afternoon’s weather couldn’t have been better.
Unfortunately.
* * *
I first heard of the prospect of snow from an unlikely source on Ninth Street in Durham. It was wrapped in a solicitation that seemed more far-fetched than usual. Not impossible for early March, but unlikely based on the unseasonably warm winter we’d been having. Two days later I received a text from my wife: it was a screen shot of the 7-day forecast. “Look at Sunday!” she implored. She never uses exclamation points. Sure enough, Sunday was pictographically represented by a snowflake.