G'day y'all!Okay, drop the Southern drawl, we up here in the North have our own type of hickyness. It's all in the way ya step out your door when its -35 (celcius) and say, 'ain't it a good to snowshoe, eh?' Well, I will say that, but not many else. Last time I took my girlfriend out on a romantic snowshoeing trip (Valentines Day) with a thermos of our stew, and a frozen bottle of wine in -25 (celcius) at night, she burnt a boot practically off her foot at the campfire trying to warm up, and that was the end of that party.
Well, I digress. My post is about how not to do it right ... I mean how to do it right. No mean to brag, but I've been doing it for a tad, and experimented with a number of different kinds of snowshoes, poles, hats, mitts, gloves, scarves, coats... etc etc etc. So you can trust Uncle Wes for a few tips, okay eh?
So this is my current ghetto gettup for +5 (celcius). Was pretty damn warm, so I later took off the sweater. I have a backpack full of survival stuffers on my back as well which isn't shown. I won't hit on too much here, but 2 things. Laying down some emphasis on how much I love traditional hybrid type snowshoes. The old deerskin are the best for something that lasts. I just had a pair of mountainering style that kinda snapped at the side, but the epoxy should fix that.
So there are a lot of traditional designs out there, and all have their benefits. You'll only find this model in the store these days, but if you look, there are a lot of traditional designs sold at different name like Faber (Quebec).
So whatever... great design mean optimizing for the type of terrain you want to hit. But point number 2 to hit; POLES. Not the kind you lick in the winter and get stuck to. Yes, you can use poles for showshoeing. I admit -- I have little experience with using poles, or dancing on them, but there is a bit of a science as to what wonders they can do for you. USE THEM!!! Here is why. They counterweight the extra weight your feet have on them (and they snow that sometimes sticks on), and force you to carry your posture correct -weight forward to carry each step centimeters to inches further. Plus they add stability, and when used properly save a lot of energy and strain in the legs.
I was snowshoeing today, and forgot my poles behind for the first kilometer. I actually turned around because it was just getting too difficult to travel without them. When getting the poles, it certainly felt like I was moving with less effort and strain, and could cover much more distance then I would have attempted without them.
The sled you see here behind me is helpful for when you want to lighten you load. Throw the backpack in there, or the kid, or the chaga you harvested. Or the snow. I gotta add a rug on the top to keep snow from falling in. Well, thats it for now. To summarize and add; type of snowshoe for terrain pretty important. Climbing a hill with traditional snowshoes sucks. 2 - Poles are a must. Saves your ass. 3 - Optimize on gear every trip to find what works for you. Temperature is difficult to deal with, but you gotta have gear for the worse swing. Getting stuck out longer than anticipated in freezing temps can be dangerous to say the least. Might just burn your boots off in a makeshift campfire.
Aight - hope you learned something. Don't take your girlfriend out on Valentines day snowshoeing. Unless your me. Actually - it was beautiful. A sky full of stars above us and a holy boot. Only on the lakes of Canada -- too bad for you Southerners. All you can see is an giant orange glow. Sucks to be you.
