Flurries, Deer, & Ted

The deer bed down on the south face of the major island in Cook's Pond last night, and 14 could be counted this morning, with a few of the deer still bedded, and a few walking around on the island. There has been a quiet debate over the presence of the deer out on the ice this winter. At present the two main theories are that they are seeking food in the buds of the vegetation on the water's edge due to scarcity elsewhere with the deep snow pack, and/or they are seeking refuge from coywolves using the large expanse of ice as a defense zone.  

If you have a theory drop us a line! gwlt@gwlt.org

Also, there is a new blog in town!
Ted's AT Trek!
http://tedatgwlt.blogspot.com/

Ted Randich is a Worcester resident, a Clark University student, and he is headed out to hit the Appalachian Trail on March 14th, just 9 days from now.
GWLT is sponsoring Ted's quest to hike the A.T. (including quality GWLT logo wear) and his hike has an academic/philosophical twist. He is studying geography with a particular eye towards "cultural" (man-made) aspects of the landscape, and "natural" aspect of the landscape, and their interplay out on the trail.

Ted will be sending in updates to GWLT from the trail that we will be posting on his behalf. We wish him Godspeed in his trek, and we hope to share his adventures with the GWLT community.

7:30 a.m. Trailhead Conditions at Cascading Waters (elev. 630'):

Temperature is 30.2 degrees F and steady;
Humidity is 56% and rising;
Pressure is 29.80" of Hg and rising;
No reading, but there is air movement registering;
Presently experiencing flurries;
Grey overcast skies;
Cascades are buried in snow and ice;
Cascades Brook is largely covered with some open spots;
USFS Fire Danger Class is NONE!

National Weather Service Forecast:

Today: A chance of snow, mainly before 2pm. Cloudy, with a high near 24. Northwest wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.