Freehiking Naked Woods

“Tramping naked through a deep carpet of rusty leaves in some places, and new snow in other places, was an exceptional experience. The woods looks completely different when it is naked, taking on a different color pallet of longer shadows, muted greens, an infinite number of shades of browns and grays, contrasted with an azure sky, and the deep blues of the distant Lake Willoughby while the low angle sun lent a warm glow to everything not seen in the summer. Again, I was acutely aware of a different kind of quiet broken only by the sound of a different kind of breeze cutting through the naked trees, the hammering of several woodpeckers fattening up for the coming winter, the chatter of some crows announcing my presence, and the distant warmth of the sun on my skin.” - FreewalkerMA