Snowshoeing Down Memory Lane

Recently  I managed to get out and snowshoe for the second time this year. In this week's epsiosde I dicuss what I learn from this and other snowshoeing experiences including some that would make Red Foreman  use his catch phrase.   

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Hello there friends, both old and new. Welcome to the Strive Seek Find podcast. I'm your host, Chance Whitmore, home to bite size, lifestyle advice from a fellow traveler on the road to a better life. Brought to you by someone who is a longtime educator, writer, parent, and an outdoor enthusiast, who may just may like a good draft, because our future is set not just through our choices, but by our willingness to explore and find a better way. Hello friends, I had the opportunity to step out and do something with my wife this weekend that I used to really enjoy. Which is to say, that wonderful walk in the woods with aluminum strapped to your feet and poles in your hand, not skiing, dear friends, obviously, but snowshoeing. And while it was Amy's first time. And my second time this winter, it was a good reminder of past experiences. And what I like about doing this. And it makes me really glad I invested in a couple of pairs of really cheap snow shoes, so I can continue to do it for years to come. Now, like most things, there's lessons that come out of this, or at least reminders. In this case, probably the biggest reminder is exactly how out of shape I am. But that's beside the point. First, I'm gonna look back, then I'm gonna see the now. Now let's get started. Back in December, I threw up some pictures. And if I can find them again, I'll throw those pictures up again of some of the beauty around where I grew up. In the summer, I'd be out in those places quite regularly. In the winter, if the snow machine would make it, I'd be out there quite regularly. But when you're a young person living well out of town, with your family in the winter, there weren't a tremendous amount of ways to get away from each other. The house wasn't that big. The outbuildings were what they were, they weren't a great hangout spot. So you developed ways to get out and about so that you got some privacy, whether it was snow machining, snowmobiling, to those of you from other parts of the geography of this country, or it was cross country skiing at one point. I didn't adore it, but I did. It occasionally was a great present. I'm glad I learned it, but I never felt really comfortable on it. And honestly, you had to be on the snowmachine track anyways. So I can remember getting this great idea that I was going to try out the antique snowshoes that we had out in the original farm building. The original farm building was the original cabin that was built on the homestead. And while the snowshoes probably didn't date from then they were not what you would call even modern snowshoes from the 1980s. They were the wood, leather and sinew models, only because they were this old, the bindings, were not what you would call intact. So at my father suggestion, I grabbed a couple of chunks of inner tube and stretched him over there. And so begins my first attempt at snowshoeing. I was warned. I was definitely warned that what I had thought about was a really bad idea. I think Jim's actual words were you probably should stay up on top of the canyon with this and try it out and see if you like it. But you know, I was a teenager. I knew better. I grabbed my backpack through a little bit of Boy Scout water, newspaper matches, can a chili into my backpack and started out. I decided I was going down to the crick in the summer, maybe a 10 minute walk and the route I was going to have to go We'll keep it from being too steep. Maybe a 15 minute walk. But no big deal. It shouldn't be that hard. At this point, dear friends, you should be hearing red Forman from that 70 Show in your head going down mass. I strap them on, off I go. Slow going, they're heavy. I don't know how exactly how heavy. By the time I got back, they felt like they weighed a million pounds on each foot along the canyon wall, huffing and puffing, thinking while this is a great idea, it's not going to get much harder than this. And then I drop off the side of the canyon is following the road. But it was one of those winters where it blew and dropped powder in the canyon. So you didn't have a nice thick crust to walk out cross. You had powder. And I was kind of sitting on top of it. At least partway. I'm gonna guess the snowshoes were 10 pounds and they spread my weight out really, really nicely. But down I went slow going. And I'm soaked in sweat. By the time I'm a third of the way down the hill. And I'm hating it. But I figure I get to the bottom, have a nice quiet fire. I've got my hatchet with me. I have plants this is going to be incredible. And then my foot slides out of the inner tube. And I step right off of my snowshoe Have you ever had that moment where you have your own knee hitch in the jaw because your other foot stepped out into the snow and you went all the way to your hip? That was that moment. I'm sure I invented a new yoga pose on this moment. Possibly called resting teenage idiot. That's as polite as I can be about young me at that point. Now the foot that was off, still hadn't hit the ground. There was still snow below me and it wasn't packed any more than the stuff that my I had already gone through. So I had to move snowshoes around because I had nothing to push off on and kind of crawl myself back up on there. By the time that was over, both feet were out of the snow shoes, and I was laying on top of them. Just gaspee is ready to call it quit go home. But I also realized that was going to be really tough. I had to figure out how to get them strapped back on my feet without tipping over again and start working my way back up. So I laid there a little bit, got my breath back and then got myself strapped up and started to try to talk myself on going further down the hill. Because there still was another drop off. I had to go over before I could get to where I was gonna go. And I started that way and about 10 minutes later, I hear the snow machine just work in its guts out. Probably shouldn't have been down there. My father decided to check on his stubborn son and his progress. So he wrote that sucker down, spun it around, ran it back up. I imagining he was giggling because he had that sense of humor. But he repacked a trail. I kind of took the out. And he just told me to get my rear end up the hill and I did. I got over on the pack snowmachine trail and went back up the hill and didn't touch a pair of snowshoes for probably 15 years. And I'd never attempt those again. What brought me back was when my parents snow machines were broken. And mom and dad had gotten started at it. So I tried it out. I enjoyed it. And whenever I went home, I would dig them out and use them. They were technically too small so I sunk a little further. But it gave me an opportunity to get out. Which of course brings me back to this weekend. I hope I'm smarter than I was as a teenager But, you know, sometimes you are sometimes you aren't. I had ordered snowshoes that actually fit my feet, but hadn't had them out yet. So it was a little bit of a train wreck getting me up on him. And it was Amy's first time, and we were with some experienced friends. So it was cool. What it brings back to me and why I always did this, when I was at my parents place comes down to some simple thing. There's nothing more peaceful than at least the illusion of being away from people. And the silence that comes with being out in the snow, letting it absorb all the sound. And just walking and enjoying what you're surrounded by the pine trees, being able to see a great distance looking down into the valley below. It was amazing. And we only made it a few miles. But it brought a lot back to me. I can't begin to describe the moment of peace that I felt on what was a walk along a ridge line. And not a long walk. But it was enough that the peace, the quiet. The lack of people allowed us to really enjoy and be in that moment. Let me tell you, I've needed this for a few weeks, months, to be honest. And getting out there really helped how I felt in a way that going to the gym never does. The combination of getting a good workout in with the ability to be surrounded by nature is extremely powerful for me and I can't urge you enough to do it. It's what I was seeking even back then as I don't know how, what year I was my teenage years. I was obviously not terribly thoughtful to try that stunt without having practiced. And what did I take away from this other than piece one, check the weather report. Because five inches of snow on the top of the ski hill. And it doesn't matter what time you try to head up there. You're looking for a two hour drive to go. What should be 30 minutes to get to your trail, sharing a new experience with my wife, as always incredible. The healing nature of getting out in the woods. The times I struggle the most with that. Remembering it at least is the times I need it the most. And last one last thing. And just because you didn't enjoy something in your youth or had a bad experience with it, somewhere along the line. Be open to trying something again and act activity that might bring you joy. Learn a little bit more about it and try it again. Because you never know how you might have changed along the way. And that my friends is it for this week's episode. special programming note wanted to thank my anonymous donor who left a very nice donation on buy me a coffee for me this week. And it will go towards buying a second mic for this setup making the interviews that I do in person that much easier to do. Well friends, that's it for this week's edition of strife seek find. Thank you again for listening. If you'd like to join the discussion, or have ideas for future episodes, hop on over to the strife seek fine podcast group on Facebook. Alternatively, if Facebook's not your thing, you can find me on Instagram at strife seek find podcast on Twitter, as at chance Whitmore five, or even on email. The links for all those are in the show notes below. Until next time, my friends keep seeking your own brilliant future