Typically Labor Day weekend signals the end of summer in a mountain town. The signs and symptoms: The crowds are thinner, the temperatures edge towards cool, locals are found on the trails and at Vons on a Saturday and the serious business of finding firewood becomes a priority.

While all the activities of summer still continue this time of year – secretly we’re all counting the days until ski season: Whether it is the cool silence of falling snow or the comforting valley-wide hum of snow-making. It doesn’t really matter. What matters is that we’ll be ready.

I’m still hitting the trails – getting in as much mountain biking as possible – and launching my kayak during the warmer hours of the day. But I admit I am paying close attention to the weather and the symptoms of an early winter: The end to autumn’s broad strokes of color, temperatures falling below freezing and the undeniable smell of winter in the air. Like anything worth waiting for – part of the fun is the count down and debating it for hours-on-end at the local coffee house!

Waiting for my turns!
Glade Girl
RIP Summer Big Bear Lake