I had to descend a steep hill and fall twice before reaching the Deer Creek trail. It got a little better after that, although I did fall again going down a small hill. I also stopped myself twice by running into a tree at slow speed. No one witnessed any of these mishaps so technically they didn't happen.
I didn't see any beavers but did see the beaver hausen and dam. I spotted a couple swans on the inner part of the Deer Creek loop and snuck down to get some close up photos of them. I would later discover I had accidentally switched my camera to shutter priority mode when I turned it on (presumably because of my gloves catching on the dial). With a shutter speed of 1/100 seconds the photos were OK but could've been much better.
The skiing was OK - a bit icy and very little base, maybe a couple inches at most so the poles didn't always grab hold very well. In the more open areas the base was even thinner, with a few patches of grass showing through.
I followed the trail up the river a little ways and found more swans, some very close to the trail and a larger group out in the middle of the river near an island. A pair of bald eagles was guarding their nest high up in the trees on the same island. I was fortunate to see 2 different groups of swans in flight and got a few photos of that - they are quite large and impressive when flying in formation. The first one has evidently been caught and tagged at some point in her/his life.
The second group had what I'm guessing were 2 young swans and their parents, based on the gray plumage. They were perfectly willing to go about their business, feeding on the river bottom and trumpeting away while I stood their watching. Even another fall from the cameraman didn't drive them away.
Altogether I saw at least a dozen swans and zero beavers, so I called it a good day and skied back to my Jeep and went home. More photos are here.
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