If there are two things I do really well with respect to snowshoeing, it’d be a.) falling down hills and b.) falling through frozen creeks. Didn’t manage to do the latter this afternoon, as the one small creek I trudged across was sufficiently frozen to bear me up. But I did manage to lose my footing and fall down a 45 degree incline or so for maybe 30 feet and then get poked by a sharp stump. Good times, good times.
Apart from that little mishap, however, today’s trip was good. Traffic going up into the mountains was awful, and there was a lot less snow than I expected, but it was great to be out and wandering around.
Last year’s Christmas addition of a handheld GPS unit opens whole new doors, because you can wander off trail with virtual impunity. Just like on the boat back in Maine, when you’re ready to head back you point yourself in the direction from whence you came and start walking. This year’s addition of some new Patagonia snowpants also came in handy as I decided to sled down the second half of the “trail” rather than risk another fall.
Not sure if I’ll be able to make another trip tomorrow as we’re supposed to get smacked pretty good, but we’ll see.
P.S. Apologies for the terrible quality picture. Unfortunately, the charger for my Nikon is MIA, leaving me with just the cameraphone. Which is awful, as you can see. I’m considering a D40 sometime in the new year, but budget concerns may prohibit that (two destination weddings, two destination bachelor’s parties, etc).
