Shoes! Snowshows

I like shoes, from my red embroidered summer flats,to my black dressy boots. This weekend I bought a pair of shoes with no aesthetic value whatsoever. What will I wear with them? Lets see.....long-johns among other things. And layers!

After last week's snowstorm there was finally enough snow to justify buying the snowshoes that I wanted to buy this winter. Saturday morning the temperature went suddenly just above freezing for the first time since about new-years, and Westboro Village, home to the Mountain Equipment Co-op, looked sunny and pretty. In the back of my mind I thought: "Murphy's law, I'll buy them and we'll have an unexpected thaw, and I won't be able to use them". Yeah, unlikely!

Inside there were many kinds of snowshoes, luckily there was friendly, knowledgeable staff to help me make the selection. I ended up with a pair of GV  "active winter trail" 9x30.

They look super high tech! They bear little resemblance to the traditional type you occasionally see on the walls in rustic little eateries. A carry bag was purchased for them, as well as a pair of long johns in the recommended moisture wicking micro-fiber rather than cotton, which will make you cold if you sweat. 

I tried them out today, and it is definitely work. First I have to suppress my tendency to point my feet outwards a bit, because with this size shoe that means the back ends will touch. Turning around requires active thinking about what you're doing, and if you forget to lift your feet out of the snow, you trip. I caught on to it pretty quick though. I went on the trail, but that was not very exciting, so I went off the trail and into deeper powder. You still sink in, but not nearly as far, and you can get pretty good speed.

This effectively makes most parks that were off limits in winter wholly accessible. No more excuse to stay inside now!