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Murray Farm Moonlight Excursion, 14 March, 2025
Our traditional winter moonlight hike almost did not happen this year. Snow had melted from our usual destination at Murray Farm and the trail was in poor condition, skies were overcast and the weather forecast called for snow, and the recent clock change for daylight "savings" meant the full moon would not rise until late evening. However, the trip was "on" Friday evening when four Cache Hikers came to our usual meeting place at Smiths Marketplace.
A cloud was hanging low over the Murray Farm area as we drove toward the Wellsvilles and it was snowing lightly by the time we arrived. We started out about 6:30 pm for a "boot" hike up Narrow Canyon, using ski poles to help with our balance while walking over uneven terrain. Fortunately most of the trail mud and slush had been covered with new snow, and we enjoyed good traction as the tread on our boots dug into the soft surface. Our route followed the trail on the south side of the meadow, through a snowy maple "tree tunnel". We heard turkeys calling as they "roosted up" across the meadow and deer tracks crossed our trail. We noticed invasive white bryony (Bryonia alba), dog rose (Rosa canina), houndstongue (Cynoglossum officinale) and burdock (Arctium minum) plants along the way.
We continued west at the end of meadow another 300 yards as the canyon narrowed and the snow underfoot became softer and deeper. By this time (7:50) it was getting fairly dark and a couple of people turned on headlamps. The trail back through the meadow was rutted and uneven underfoot. The moon had not yet appeared when we got back to the trailhead, so we waited to see if it would show over the eastern horizon. After a half-hour nibbling on green treats while waiting under a light snowfall (and a half-hour after the official moonrise), we gave up and went home without actually seeing the moon, but enjoying a snowy night hike regardless.
Trip Summary:
- Four Cache Hikers, Jane, Bree, Mitchel, and Dave W (leader)
- Drove 12 miles to the Murray Farm Trailhead
- Started hiking about 6:30 pm, back at the trailhead about 8:15, drove away about 8:50
- Overcast and snowing lightly, calm winds, temperature in the mid 30s (sunset 7:33, moonrise 8:15)
- Hiked about 2 miles with 400 feet of ascent
Thanks
to Dave W for the narrative, photos and GPS data and
Jane and Bree for photos
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| Snowing lightly at the the start of our Murray Farm hike | |||
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| The trail was covered with a layer of
new snow over freezing slush |
White bryony vines dangled from the
trees |
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| A snowy tree tunnel |
There's a young person inside that
shelter |
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| Heading down the trail in the gathering darkness | |||
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| The light sky in the right of this photo may be the moon coming up over the Bear River Range | |||
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| A turkey track in the snow |
These small tracks may have been made by a squirrel | ||
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| There are little worms (actually, wasp larvae) inside the galls that grow on the dog roses here | A St. Patrick's day treat at our turn-around spot | ||
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Our GPS track shows about 2 miles
and 400 feet of ascent.
You can look at our route using Google
Earth or download our GPS file.
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