Snowshoeing

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Went out along the same woodland trail today for about an hour and a half, but took the longer uphill loop. I followed some big man's snowshoe tracks, which was not always easy because he took much longer strides than I can, but still it was easier than breaking another new trail. No crust at all here, still very deep 15" inches of soft snow in the woods.

The trail is about 8 feet wide through this reserve. Yesterday I was the only one to leave a trail through the reserve, and I followed my own trail back again, leaving lots of space on either side for x-country skiers to make their own pristine trails if they wanted. Today I saw that this man in snowshoes had rather inconsiderately made a mess of the whole trail- he shoe'd all the way in making a big trail to one side of mine, leaving giant deep footholes....and then on the way back he shoe'd on the OTHER side of my trail instead of using his own trail back! Thus, in place of one snowshoe track, there were now THREE and the whole 8' wide trail was covered with deep huge shoe holes everywhere- those X-country skiiers are not going to be happy- and I don't blame them at all! It was ugly looking too. Why did this fellow do that??
I saw today that an animal had made use of my snowshoe trail from yesterday- for a long distance there was a trail in my yesterday's footprints of what looked like a cross between a large cat and a small very lightweight dog- I concluded it was a fox. Looked like dog prints but very small, dainty and pointy. No French poodles would be out there, for sure!
I got really thirsty midway out. I could not resist drinking from a stream, and I crawled to the edge on my tummy in the snow so I wouldn't break through to the mushy edges. I didn't want to scoop the water with my hands and make them too cold. I felt very "wild" lying on my stomach in the woods slurping from the rushing stream with my mouth...

Because the snow was a bit wetter today (no crust though) and I was able to use previous footprints much of the time, it was not as grueling as yesterday's trail breaking. Still a good workout though, for legs and heart. I'm getting faster at getting my shoes strapped on and off.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hey, snowshoe fans!

Just checking in this fine Autumn to say hi and are you getting excited yet thinking about snowshoeing this coming winter?

I wanted to post this link to some nice thermal waterproof Merrill hiking boots I just ordered:
http://www.onlineshoes.com/productpa...n=w&pcid=64085
One cool feature on them is that they have heel ridges that are specifically designed to hold snowshoe straps nicely in place without the straps slipping down! So great! I have to get the boots big enough to wear two pairs good heavy wool socks in them for the frigid cold. Will get back with a review once I wear them a bit.

[surgtech1956]

Nice looking boots, pretty good price too. Give us an update. I'm thinking about snowshoeing this winter. Do you have to have lots of snow in order to snowshoe? What do you do, just put your snowshoes on and go for a walk, hike????

[northstar]

Glad to see this thread return to life...I'm interested in getting into snowshoeing (think it might be more convenient/affordable than XC skiing). I don't even know where to begin as far as equipment goes. There are two golf courses near our houses that are beautiful and groom trails for XC skiing. Thinking that might be a good place to start...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Nice looking boots, pretty good price too. Give us an update. I'm thinking about snowshoeing this winter. Do you have to have lots of snow in order to snowshoe? What do you do, just put your snowshoes on and go for a walk, hike????

I just received an email that the boots have shipped, haven't gotten them yet.

You can snowshoe in about 5 inches or more of snow. We usually get a few good deep 8+" snows every winter here and a few 5 inchers....but last year was not much, just two big ones. Hope it's not a trend.

We live on a hill at the edge of our little small country town. There is a 2 mile trail through the woods that starts a block from our house, so there's always that. And I went into town once during a blizzard- now THAT was FUN!!!! It was just me and the snowplow guys out in the heavy snow flakes- beautiful. I shoed all around the streets of the village and no one was shoveling yet.
Another time I went with a agirlfriend to a nature reserve with rolling fields and ponds and we have a great time hiking all over there- no paths at all!
Once they plow the streets and shovel the sidewalks my options are more limited and I have to do the woodland trail here or go in my car somewhere else to some fields to shoe. There's a bird sanctuary with trails in a nearby town I could go to.

Glad to see this thread return to life...I'm interested in getting into snowshoeing (think it might be more convenient/affordable than XC skiing). I don't even know where to begin as far as equipment goes. There are two golf courses near our houses that are beautiful and groom trails for XC skiing. Thinking that might be a good place to start...

Yes it IS cheaper than getting cross country skiing equipment. But a decent pair of snowshoes will cost at least $125 i think. Cheaper than that and they dont have much crampons/teeth on the bottom and you'll slip on any hills you encounter. We have steep hills around here everywhere, so I got some with major teeth. Mine were good ones and I think I recall I paid about $200-225 for them. I've had to use them, too, climbing up and descending steep hilly trials in the woods!
One thing i bought and don't think I'll need much is poles. I find i keep my balance better without poles (for now) I suppose they are essential for mountain shoeing, but I've found I get annoyed at having to lug them with me.
I would think golf courses would be GREAT for snowshoeing! But you'll have to be aware that you should not "wreck" the nice smooth trails that the x-country skiiers go on- not polite to riddle their smooth grooved trails with giant Yeti pot holes from your shoes! When i see and groomed trail I stay to one side of it out of consideration for the skiiers.

Other than the snowshoes, all you need are good warm clothes that keep the snow and cold out. Some leg gaiters (gaitors?) are really handy- they keep the snow from flipping all over your legs and from getting into your boots. I found that any of my hiking boots fit just fine into my snowshoe straps- the straps are very rugged and very adjustable to various boots.

I am hoping for some decent snowfalls this winter.

[northstar]

Yep...I'd be sure to keep off the nicely groomed trails! I do need to make sure it's ok for me to get out on the golf courses though. They're public courses, and people go sledding out there in the winter, so I'm pretty sure it is ok for me to snowshoe around out there. Just want to be sure, though. They're beautiful...hills and trees, and quiet! Can't wait!

I've looked at shoes online at REI and also wandered through the section in the store and boy, do they have a nice selection. Looks like they start right around $125, just like you mentioned, Lisa. Do you think I would regret getting something in the $150 range? Are there any really nice features missing from that level of shoe that might really keep me going?

After such an active spring/summer/fall, I really want to carry on getting outside and enjoying the outdoors this winter. I think this might be the ticket! And no shortage of snow in MN, you know!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hi Northstar,
I am no big expert, but I can only tell you about my own experiences.

I got Tubbs women's snowshoes. I am VERY pleased with them!

Here is the Tubbs site:
http://www.tubbssnowshoes.com/

On the site, you can enter your weight and terrain, and find the right size and style recommended for you:
http://www.tubbssnowshoes.com/products/shoefinder/
Be sure to follow their weight/size recommendations.

I highly recommend the "dayhiking" good crampon shoes like the "Wilderness:"
http://www.tubbssnowshoes.com/produc...ens_Wilderness
(if you don't have good crampons (underneath steel teeth) you will slide on clines and hills.) I also love these shoes because they have a quick easy-in/easy-out strap loosener so you don't struggle so much when sitting in the snow getting them on and off. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to fit my big chunky muckluks into them, but the shoe grip system they have fits a wide range of sized boots.
I'm in the 155 lb range with my gear on, and I got the 25" shoes, as per Tubbs' recommendation.

Here is the women's Wilderness shoe for sale at EasternMountainSports for $169:
http://www.ems.com/catalog/subcatego...531&i=1&n=1000
I think that's a really good price for an excellent shoe that's like mine from last year's models.

Some women's ankle gaiters (I got the first ones pictured, but they have cheaper ones):
http://www.ems.com/catalog/subcatego...=1192553998937

I also got this snowshoe tote bag:
http://www.ems.com/catalog/product_d...=1192554480220
The small sized one fit my 25" shoes beautifully. It's great to hang your shoes in the closet off-season, or throw them in the car, etc.

If I were you I wouldn't bother with getting poles for now, unless you plan on climbing the Swiss Alps.

I hope some of this helps you hone in on what you might need. There certainly are a lot of GREAT shoes out there to choose from these days!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I wanted to post this link to some nice thermal waterproof Merrill hiking boots I just ordered:
http://www.onlineshoes.com/productpa...n=w&pcid=64085
One cool feature on them is that they have heel ridges that are specifically designed to hold snowshoe straps nicely in place without the straps slipping down! So great! I have to get the boots big enough to wear two pairs good heavy wool socks in them for the frigid cold. Will get back with a review once I wear them a bit.

Well I got the boots and they seem just great- very comfy and warm.
I was surprised to find that the uppers are actually made of a non-leather heavy waterproof material, flexible and strong like rubber. They look and feel rather like leather, but are not. I like these boots, and they should work well with heavy wool socks and gaiters. They have Thinsulate lining for the cold.

Aside from the snowshoe ridge in the back of the heel, I found that they also have a little D-ring for your gaiters to hook onto right in the front top of the foot, at the bottom of the laces (the photo sort of hides them). That will be very convenient to hook my gaiter hooks onto. Gaiters are good with this boot, since the boot is not overly high.
Now all we need is some deep snow to try them out. Might have to wait another month for that.

[surgtech1956]

What about cheaper snowshoes? I don't know if I want to spend almost $200 on snowshoes. But then I don't want to waste my money on cheap ones either. I was looking at the ones in LL Bean, don't know who the manufacturer is.

[DebW]

What about cheaper snowshoes? I don't know if I want to spend almost $200 on snowshoes. But then I don't want to waste my money on cheap ones either. I was looking at the ones in LL Bean, don't know who the manufacturer is.

MSR Denali Classics $140, almost identical to the Denali Ascents but without the televator. Exceptional crampons for traction on steep slopes or sidehills. Easy to use pivoting binding. These are mountaineering quality shoes at an exceptional price.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

MSR Denali Classics $140, almost identical to the Denali Ascents but without the televator. Exceptional crampons for traction on steep slopes or sidehills. Easy to use pivoting binding. These are mountaineering quality shoes at an exceptional price.

Deb, can you post a link to those?

[DebW]

MSR Denali Classics $140, almost identical to the Denali Ascents but without the televator. Exceptional crampons for traction on steep slopes or sidehills. Easy to use pivoting binding. These are mountaineering quality shoes at an exceptional price.

Deb, can you post a link to those?

http://www.msrcorp.com/snow/denali.asp

Available at LLBean

[shootingstar]

We are in a mountain ski resort area right now vacationing. Did my first day of snowshoeing this year..and found at higher altitudes I really needed to acclimatize. But really lovely going through protected trails amongst soaring trees dripping with lush snow. With mountain panoramic views along the way over the edge.

I wear a pair of outer semi-water resistant pants over 2 pairs of tights. Plus the gaiters.

Our hotel lodge rm. is only 10 ft. away from a steep slope parallel where I just saw a snowboarder fly by..at 8:00 am.

We're doing more snowshoeing in about 2 hrs. after I fill myself with abit more breakfast.

We've been snowshoeing for the last 4 years, every winter.