Ecotat before the storm (Hermon)

The National Weather Service is predicting 6-12" of snow today, so I was surprised to find it was not snowing when I woke up.   I threw on my boots and jacket and headed to Ecotat near my house for a quick hike.

I've hiked (and blogged about hiking) Ecotat many times but today's hike reminded me how grateful I am to have areas like this practically in my backyard.  Although I only hiked 0.8 miles (as expected, the snow started 5 minutes into the hike), I was able to connect, however briefly, with nature and get lost in my thoughts as I silently stalked the many deer, turkey and coyote whose tracks I followed.