Stomp – the Snow Version

I drove up to Nine Mile Recreational Forest Area this afternoon, and met up with Mom and Ruth, to see if snowshoeing (rather than cross country skiing) was more our speed.  The weather was beautiful, though cold, about 18 degrees and sun sun sunny.  We paid for our trail passes and equipment rental, were handed a pair of snowshoes, and then ventured outside to begin our adventure.

I had only been snowshoeing once in the past, but this was Mom and Ruth’s first attempt.  And it could not have been easier.  The trail was relatively packed down and was easy to follow.  As there was only 5 inches of snow (due to all the rain last week) we didn’t fall into any soft spots or slide down any of the hills.  It was louder than we thought it would be, us crunching through the woods, and certainly did not spot or catch any deer or wildlife unaware.  The trail loop was 5.8 km (just over 3 1/2 miles) and took us through woods, fields, and across a small stream.  We made it back to the chalet safe and sound in about an hour and twenty minutes, after only a slight detour due to the Special Olympic races going on.  We are already discussing season trail pass prices and looking for some good deals on snowshoes this spring!