Always prepared.
My visit to the trees I'm following this year didn't go as planned. There was too much snow to drive the road to the old campground where they grow. I had skis, but there were huge bare spots too, thanks to our wind. Instead, we took the "multipurpose trail" from the Happy Jack trailhead. It sees a lot of snowbike traffic, so is well packed and excellent for hiking.

Packed multipurpose trail, no skis needed.

Snowbike track; tires are extra wide.
It was all great fun, of course!

We hustled to get there and back before dusk. Even so, by the time we reached the trees there was just a bit of golden light here and there.
The aspen's crown was catching a bit of light.
View from the trail: quaking aspen on left, balsam poplar (I hope) on right.
The snow in the drainage bottom was too deep to visit the trees up close. But I doubt I would have found anything new. That's the way it will be with these trees for the next three months. However, next month I will start earlier, take time to look around, and surely find things of interest along the way.

This is my contribution to the February gathering of tree-followers hosted by The Squirrelbasket. More news can be found here. If you're curious and want to give it a try, see this post.