My Little Ponies and a Hot Toddy!

OK, this is not for everyone and it certainly isn't for me but I promised myself I would get outside at least 4 times a week for some sort of cardio activity and so, here I was.  I think the temperature was around 12 degrees with a brisk wind out of the west.  I will name the participants because with all the clothing, how could you know?

We pushed off from the Clear Creek Metro Park trail head located off Starner Road.  Peggy & Gus Cook, Steve O, Flyin Tuna, Frank S, Eva, Lisa R and me.  I pulled my hand from a glove to retrieve the camera and took....

...this pic but did not notice that a hand warmer tumbled out.  Good luck finding the small, white packet in the snow.  Damn it!  I've discovered that these cold weather cycling gloves I wear yield some insulation in favor of mobility so at some point during the hike, I decided to buy a pair of gloves more appropriate for real cold temps.  We reached a parking area at mile 4.5 and paused there to share a thermos filled with a Gus-made Hot Toddy.  Eva also had a thermos with hot tea.  The Hot Toddy mixture was more popular than the tea so Gus solved that problem by transferring some of his brew into the tea thermos.  That guy is smart.  We headed back....

...a different way, getting on Ott Road, then a right on Starner which turned into Bunker Hill and back into the park on one of the main trails.  We passed a home that had a herd of ponies running around and greeting us at a fence.

Eventually, we dropped down a trail and reached Clear Creek Road.  My shoes are not water proof so I stayed on the road while the others followed the trail that paralleled the road including....

....Cindy and Lisa who demonstrated they were the most fit and adept at handling the trail conditions, putting the rest of us on the rivet for most of the return....damn them!!!  Finished with 9.3 miles and 1200' of climbing.  Seemed there was more climbing and with all the slipping and sliding on the ascents, there probably was.