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Of course, snowshoes or skis (with climbing skins) would be preferred if the snow is fresh unpacked.

Cross-country skiing in Spaulding Meadows is unparalleled for sheer pleasure. One finds rolling, open meadows, scattered shore pines, a small stand of yellow cedar and tiny frozen lakes.

Snowmachines, coming up from the Student Housing trailhead, are supposed to restrict their runs to the east side of the meadows but don't always do it.

Fresh snow offers the possibility of animal tracking. There are the usual porcupine and squirrel tracks, as well as those of ravens. Sometimes there are ptarmigan tracks.

A special treat on one visit was a set of wolverine tracks. Once we found marten tracks running from one conifer thicket to another, and we even spotted a marten on another trip.

On one memorable occasion, hikers found the tracks of a vagrant lynx.

On my two most recent visits this winter, I was struck by the near-absence of bird calls. I heard none of the usual chestnut-backed chickadees, golden-crowned kinglets, or Steller's jays. A pair of ravens joined us at lunch, approaching warily in hopes of bread crusts or other goodies. They snatched a few after we left.

From Spaulding Meadows it's possible to connect with other, informal, ski routes. A favorite one goes over to the John Muir cabin and then down the Auke Nu trail.

From the cabin, you can travel down to the cabin at Peterson Lake and come out the Peterson trail or whisk over to Auke Mountain and back.

To the east, one can go up what we used to call "Killer Hill" (which isn't really that bad) and down the ridge to the Montana Creek trail.

From there, you can come out to Montana Creek Road or, alternatively, go to the Windfall Lake cabin and out the Windfall Lake trail.

The meadows are lovely in summer too, although too many booted feet can damage them.

There are greater yellowlegs perched on small pines, calling loudly and defending their nests. Dragonflies and damselflies zoom over the ponds, gobbling mosquitoes and looking for mates.

Juncos nest under sedge tussocks or along the shrubby edges. A diversity of small, muskeg-loving flowering plants is scattered among the mosses and sedges.

• Mary F. Willson is a retired professor of ecology and a Trail Mix board member.