Snowshoeing

[Jolt]

Jolt- congratulations on your first shoe-in!!! Snowshoeing is easier than I thought it would be too, in terms of figuring out what to do. But it's also harder than my biking and fitness walking in terms of giving me a good cardio workout. If there's fresh deep powder and hilly trails and you're the first person to break the snow, then snowshoeing is hard work! If you're walking over someone's previous trail, no matter how small their prints are, it's immediately way easier.

That probably explains why it didn't feel like that hard of a workout--I was walking over EVERYONE'S previous trail for most of the way. It had been quite a while since the snow had fallen, so that had given the place plenty of time to get lots of traffic. It would be great if the next big snowfall is on a day when I can get up the next morning and go before a bunch of people have broken trail--then I'll get a feel for how much of a workout it normally is!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Alex- that's an amazing and scary story!!! I get scared even when I look at a stuffed moose in a museum.....they're so BIG!!!

[Crankin]

I think I would have peed in my pants and fainted if I was being chased by a moose! A couple of years ago we were hiking in our neighborhood conservation trails when I heard a weird animal noise. There have been black bear sightings in Concord, mostly in the early morning, so I think this must have been on my mind, even though it was almost dusk. I ran like h*** back to the car.
Lisa, you can be assured I was not snowboarding! I used my poles to run down that mountain and it helped. It also might have been that the ascent was really steep in a very short time and I was struggling. I was happy to get down.
It's 8 AM and already 40 out!!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Lisa, you can be assured I was not snowboarding! I used my poles to run down that mountain and it helped. It also might have been that the ascent was really steep in a very short time and I was struggling.

Impressive!

It's 8 AM and already 40 out!!

Yes, it's 11am and 40 degrees here too! If it weren't supposed to rain I would be on my bike! Definitely tomorrow though....

EDIT: This afternoon the sun came out and i DID in fact go for a 13 mile bike ride- it was so warm and lovely! My first bike ride of the year.

[roadie gal]

Moose are scary critters! I'm glad you're OK.

We got about 3 new feet of snow at this altitude (LOTS more higher up). In order to walk the dogs this morning I had to put on my BIG snowshoes - the ones I used to wear when I weighed 20 pounds more and carried a heavy pack - in order to just walk the dogs in the morning. Of course, those smart dogs made ME break trail. Even with the big shoes I was sinking to my knees. We were only out for an hour. I'm exhausted now!

[Alex]

Now that I've completed all my internet research about moose attacks (shouldn't have done THAT right before bed ), I thought I should report on the rest of Sunday's snowshoe adventure. I LOVE my new Redfeather Strider snowshoes. They are perfect and light and a very pretty blue. Previously, I rented the Denali Ascents and I really needed to widen my stance with those. With the Striders, I can walk almost normally.

At certain points, it was snowing and blowing so hard that our tracks disappeared almost as soon as we made them. Amazing!

Alex

[Alex]

Robyn,

If I thought there was a bear, I'd have set a new land speed record!


Lisa,

Glad you had a great ride!


Roadie Gal,

If we didn't shovel pathways in the backyard for our dogs, they would need snowshoes, too!


Alex