"I'm looking forward to winter."
My wife scoffed when I said that today. She would be happy if it never snowed and the temperature never went below zero celcius again. Ever.
Last year for Christmas, I asked for, and she gave me a pair of snowshoes. I had never snowshoed before. I'm not particularly athletic - anymore. But I'm fairly coordinated and it looked relatively easy. It was easy. I figure if you can walk, you can snowshoe.
All you need are snowshoes. OK, snowshoes and some warm winter clothing. But if you live where it's cold enough to snow, you probably have the clothing already. I find poles helpful, but they're not essential.
Of course, you need somewhere to walk in your snowshoes. You don't need groomed trails, but you you do need somewhere covered in snow. The more snow, the better. Trails for walking, hiking and cycling in summer months, are great for snowshoeing. You'll probably have to share these trails with walkers and cross country skiers. Open fields, golf courses and wooded areas are good too. But make sure you have permission to use these areas.
I live in a suburb on the outskirts of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I'm fortunate that there are trails right outside my backdoor. Literally. I fasten my snowshoes while I sit on my back porch, walk through my gate and I'm on a trail system that stretches for miles in both directions. I have access to trails, fields and wooded areas without having to drive to a wilderness area.
I'm the only one in our household that snowshoes. No one else has expressed interest. I'm OK with that. It's time that I can be alone with my thoughts. I enjoy nature. I watch for tracks when I walk in the woods. I see rabbit tracks and deer tracks mostly. I sometimes see tracks that may belong to dogs, but there are no human tracks anywhere nearby and I'm too far off the beaten track to believe it could be a wandering dog or cat. We hear coyotes at night in the summer. We've seen wolves and foxes in the area. Bear are spotted just often enough to make us realize that we do need to be careful.
I used to snowshoe with my iPod playing my favourite music. But I wanted to hear the sounds of nature - sounds like the cheery chirping of birds. I also want to hear warning sounds like the sound of ice cracking under me and the sound of an approaching snowmobile (some of my trails are shared use trails).
Today is December 11, 2010. We've had a little snow and a little freezing rain so far this winter. This past week, temperatures were between -5 celcius and -16 celcius. I was getting excited because the weather forecasters were calling for 35 to 45 centimetres of snow tomorrow. But as often happens, they lowered their expectations. Now we expect only 5 centimetres of snow and some rain or freezing rain.
I guess it's a good time to check my gear and make sure it's ready for the first snowfall. I've put a few snowshoe accessories on my Christmas list this year. I'm looking for other places to snowshoe in the area. I'd like to try some new trails and some new terrain, but nothing too far away. I might even try some trails in my hometown in the Kawartha lakes area when we head back there for Christmas. Weather permitting, of course.
The waiting is the hardest part.
My wife scoffed when I said that today. She would be happy if it never snowed and the temperature never went below zero celcius again. Ever.
Last year for Christmas, I asked for, and she gave me a pair of snowshoes. I had never snowshoed before. I'm not particularly athletic - anymore. But I'm fairly coordinated and it looked relatively easy. It was easy. I figure if you can walk, you can snowshoe.
All you need are snowshoes. OK, snowshoes and some warm winter clothing. But if you live where it's cold enough to snow, you probably have the clothing already. I find poles helpful, but they're not essential.
Of course, you need somewhere to walk in your snowshoes. You don't need groomed trails, but you you do need somewhere covered in snow. The more snow, the better. Trails for walking, hiking and cycling in summer months, are great for snowshoeing. You'll probably have to share these trails with walkers and cross country skiers. Open fields, golf courses and wooded areas are good too. But make sure you have permission to use these areas.
I live in a suburb on the outskirts of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I'm fortunate that there are trails right outside my backdoor. Literally. I fasten my snowshoes while I sit on my back porch, walk through my gate and I'm on a trail system that stretches for miles in both directions. I have access to trails, fields and wooded areas without having to drive to a wilderness area.
I'm the only one in our household that snowshoes. No one else has expressed interest. I'm OK with that. It's time that I can be alone with my thoughts. I enjoy nature. I watch for tracks when I walk in the woods. I see rabbit tracks and deer tracks mostly. I sometimes see tracks that may belong to dogs, but there are no human tracks anywhere nearby and I'm too far off the beaten track to believe it could be a wandering dog or cat. We hear coyotes at night in the summer. We've seen wolves and foxes in the area. Bear are spotted just often enough to make us realize that we do need to be careful.
I used to snowshoe with my iPod playing my favourite music. But I wanted to hear the sounds of nature - sounds like the cheery chirping of birds. I also want to hear warning sounds like the sound of ice cracking under me and the sound of an approaching snowmobile (some of my trails are shared use trails).
Today is December 11, 2010. We've had a little snow and a little freezing rain so far this winter. This past week, temperatures were between -5 celcius and -16 celcius. I was getting excited because the weather forecasters were calling for 35 to 45 centimetres of snow tomorrow. But as often happens, they lowered their expectations. Now we expect only 5 centimetres of snow and some rain or freezing rain.
I guess it's a good time to check my gear and make sure it's ready for the first snowfall. I've put a few snowshoe accessories on my Christmas list this year. I'm looking for other places to snowshoe in the area. I'd like to try some new trails and some new terrain, but nothing too far away. I might even try some trails in my hometown in the Kawartha lakes area when we head back there for Christmas. Weather permitting, of course.
The waiting is the hardest part.
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