Snowshoe Fun

     I love to snowshoe almost as much as I love cross-country skiing.  I haven’t been able to do much of either this winter.  I’ve snowshoed with the kids at school a number of times but I hadn’t snowshoed my favorite loop until yesterday.

     I usually snowshoe from Voyageur every other day in the winter.  If you start out packing a trail early in the winter then it isn’t too difficult.  If you wait until winter is almost over and there’s five feet of snow on the ground it can be a bit more challenging.  Needless to say I was quite challenged yesterday.

     I made my way across the Seagull River with ease.  I invited Rugby along as I did with Jasper and Ambri when they were alive.  The huskies wouldn’t go on the river or on ice that wasn’t frozen solidly.  Rugby wouldn’t go out on it at all so I made the trek across on my own. 

     Back on shore across the river there was tons of snow.  I had chosen the smaller metal snowshoes instead of my trusty longer wooden ones.  That was a mistake because every step I took I sunk deep into the soft snow up to my knees.  Once in awhile I would stay on top of a crusty layer of hard packed snow unfortunately it wasn’t often enough. 

     Out of breath and exhausted I found myself at Gulf Lake.  The lake is within the BWCA and there wasn’t a human track on it.  The ice was firm without any slush and I easily made my way across the lake to the camp’s property.  Thankfully someone had traveled their trail during the winter so it was a little easier going home. 

     The woods were quiet and calming.  The wind rustled through the trees and cooled my overheating body.  I found a chunk of snow to nibble on and quench my thirst.  A sense of peace filled me as I took each crunchy step towards home. 

     Such fun snowshoeing through the woods.  Now the going will be easier since the trail is packed.  I think I’m going to have to go again today.