Karen and I have hiked, I think, every weekend this year, and many weekends late last year, on the mountain trails nearest to our home. Mostly various trailheads to the Sourdough Trail but other trails in the area like Mud Lake. We call them Hallmark Hikes, because of the snow-covered trees and trail.

Sadly, we aren’t snowshoeing. Not enough snow. The snowfall is dramatically behind schedule. This weekend though finally brought the cold of winter. Odds are, it did for you too. It...