Today we did our first snow shoe of the year. We did order new snow shoes, but they haven't arrived yet. Ours are ok, but 13 years old and there are newer latching mechanisms. Going to give them to my son and DIL.
We went to a conservation land trail in the town of Stow, MA, near the town we used to live in. It's pretty close, we ride in this area a lot, but I haven't been here in ages. DH used to mountain bike here with my younger son, when he was 13! Anyway, we had 6 inches of snow, it was over 30 degrees and bright sun this morning. I really wanted to ski, but despite the 2 local and kind of local nordic centers opening, they were clear it was a "rock ski" day, for old skis. Since I only have one pair, I was good. There were a few signs that 1-2 other people had been on the trail, but we were breaking trail for most of the 3.3 miles. We started with a climb, then it was flat, and then we had a long and steep climb. It was tough going, but beautiful. As we descended, we got to a point where we were behind a community center and ball field, on a main road, which feels so weird, since I really felt I was in the middle of nowhere. By this time, I felt like I was on the way to getting blisters. The snow was getting sticky and clumping in the crampon and every step felt hard. My hiking boots are broken in, I put Body Glide on my feet, so I think it's really the weight of these snow shoes. I hiked 4 miles yesterday (no snow) and was fine.
We slowed a lot, but made it back. My heels are red, but no blisters. Hoping the new snow shoes are better. It was a gorgeous day out and I keep remembering how lucky I am to live near all of these great places.