Busting out of the house and onto the trail can do wonders for your mental health in winter.

Winter had arrived with a vengeance and so had a dose of the winter blues as the long, dark nights and lack of sunshine hours claimed an icy grip on my soul.

It was time to go for a tramp. Fortunately, the weather gods were smiling and the 58km Greenstone–Caples circuit, with its pretty valleys and well-spaced huts, made an obvious choice for a multi-day adventure.

Miss Eight was excited to see some snow and I was excited to be outside, away from the house, leaving the stressors of everyday life behind.

We sped up the track towards Mid Caples Hut, delighting at the frost-encrusted grass crunching under our boots.

My daughter’s squeal of delight signalled the first snow encounter. I was glad she was wrapped up warmly in waterproof gloves, knee-high gaiters and a raincoat as she jumped and frolicked in the white powder, scooping up huge handfuls and hurling them at me.

“Snowball fight!” she roared.

But waterproof gloves are never waterproof enough, and soon the glee turned to wails as her fingers burned with cold. Luckily we’d reached Mid Caples Hut and could dry out in the sunshine and warm our hands on cups of hot chocolate.

The winter months tend to envelop me in a horrible, depressive lethargy, as if my body is responding to some ancient biological call to hibernate. But at the hut I was grinning from ear to ear as I surveyed this winter wonderland. The sun had risen over the gleaming tops of the Ailsa Mountains and a robin had come to visit. My daughter forgot her cold fingers and was busy making a snowman out of a patch of old snow.

As we wandered further up the valley I marvelled at how a good dose of exercise and nature therapy helps keep the blues at bay. Already I felt lighter, brighter and more alert, and by the sounds of my daughter’s happy chatter, I could tell she felt good too. 

After a cosy night at Upper Caples Hut we climbed to McKellar Saddle, negotiating windfall on the way. Our happy chatter turned into growls and grumbles as the climb turned into a full-body workout, navigating slippery trunks and broken branches in our heavy boots. 

But all was forgiven when we finally broached the saddle and stepped out of the forest into glorious subalpine scrub, a magical place made even more spectacular under a heavy blanket of snow.

After a hot dinner at McKellar Hut, we settled down for the long, dark night with a game of cards, hot drinks and roasted marshmallows. Snuggling into my sleeping bag, I basked in the warm satisfaction that comes from successfully escaping the burrow of hibernation, wrapping up my little bear cub, and braving the cold weather to fight off those winter blues.