January 23, 2011
Snowshoeing 101
Yesterday we ran for a little over 3 hours in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) on the Buckeye Trail It was cold, but as always, we had a blast complaining how neither one of us can feel our fingers or our toes, or our noses, or our ears, etc. Let’s face it, we are freeze babies. Anywho, this morning we slept in a little, grabbed a bite to eat at Your’s Truly, went back to the house, did some work on the computers while watching a DVD on sunny California and then decided it was time to break out the snowshoes. One of the great things that we have in common is that both of us are always up for an adventure. So about a week ago Rachel suggested we experiment with snowshoeing to switch up our winter running. Rachel has a new pair of Dion Snowshoes and Steve just received his Redfeather 700s the day before. So with our new gear in hand, we made the 10-minute drive to Kendall Lake. Kendall is a great spot for the winter recreation enthusiast. The CVNP also rents snowshoes and cross-country skies at a modest price. On this particular day there was a group of young children skiing and having a blast. It was chilly, a mere 18 degrees, but the sun was shining and lake looked like something from a winter postcard. Rachel was quick to put on her snowshoe, to which Steve said “you look funny”. Rachel’s response was a surprising “you look funny too”. With that being said, we were off! We wanted to make our first snowshoeing experience a good one, so we didn’t want to go too long or hard, just keep the pace conversational and enjoy the experience. We decided to loop the very hilly cross-country course. The first ¾ of a mile is up a long and gradual hill. Now keep in mind, neither one of us is what you would describe as “nimble” or “graceful”. So getting into any type of rhythm was a challenge. We started off walking, then very quickly began hiking, and the Steve says “this is great!” and attempts to show off his mastery of the snowshoe but sprinting about 3 feet ahead of Rachel and then starts hiking again. Meanwhile, Rachel was getting bored with the hiking and decides it’s time to start running. So running it is and we now moving at a good pace, crest the hill and make out way through an open field. The snow is in great condition as many snowshoers and skiers have traveled it over the weekend. Then we come to a steep down hill in which we fly down like pros. There were even some cross-country skiers there to cheer us one. Like all things in running “what goes down, must go up”, so we begin to climb again. Then the trail flattens out a bit as we travel through the woods. This is where Rach decides to give Steve a little love tap and clip his snowshoes. Steve looks over at Rachel and says what was that for and she said you were slowing down…geeze. We then pop out at the top of a small hill. The snow was a little fluffier here and A LOT deeper. Steve took off down the hill kicking up 6ft of powder while Rachel decided she was getting tired of getting snow kicked on her, hung back a bit, then as Steve was in the process of resuming the position, you know where he follows Rachel (see San Diego), something happens. Almost like a snow angel from above decided to fly down and trip him, he finds his feet crossed and next thing you know, he is face down in 2 feet of snow yelling “HELP”! Rach is now a little ahead of him and FINALLY looks back to see him trying to get up. She then stops… nice you might say right…maybe if it weren’t for the fact she stopped to catch her breath from laughing so hard. I guess this is one of things that Rachel loves so much about Steve, the fact that he is clumsier than she is and has a lot of practice laughing at himself. We then make the long climb up to Pine Hollow, take the Salt Run trail to the Lake trail and then through the toboggan tunnel and then back to the truck.
This was a great first experience with our snowshoes and now we are hooked! We plan on using our snowshoes at least once per week. It’s a great exercise, more challenging than trail running, utilizes different muscle groups than normal running, and a great way to embrace Mother Nature during the winter months. Heck, maybe we will even get good enough where we will find a snowshoe ultra marathon to do….now that would be an adventure!
Snowshoeing 101
Yesterday we ran for a little over 3 hours in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) on the Buckeye Trail It was cold, but as always, we had a blast complaining how neither one of us can feel our fingers or our toes, or our noses, or our ears, etc. Let’s face it, we are freeze babies. Anywho, this morning we slept in a little, grabbed a bite to eat at Your’s Truly, went back to the house, did some work on the computers while watching a DVD on sunny California and then decided it was time to break out the snowshoes. One of the great things that we have in common is that both of us are always up for an adventure. So about a week ago Rachel suggested we experiment with snowshoeing to switch up our winter running. Rachel has a new pair of Dion Snowshoes and Steve just received his Redfeather 700s the day before. So with our new gear in hand, we made the 10-minute drive to Kendall Lake. Kendall is a great spot for the winter recreation enthusiast. The CVNP also rents snowshoes and cross-country skies at a modest price. On this particular day there was a group of young children skiing and having a blast. It was chilly, a mere 18 degrees, but the sun was shining and lake looked like something from a winter postcard. Rachel was quick to put on her snowshoe, to which Steve said “you look funny”. Rachel’s response was a surprising “you look funny too”. With that being said, we were off! We wanted to make our first snowshoeing experience a good one, so we didn’t want to go too long or hard, just keep the pace conversational and enjoy the experience. We decided to loop the very hilly cross-country course. The first ¾ of a mile is up a long and gradual hill. Now keep in mind, neither one of us is what you would describe as “nimble” or “graceful”. So getting into any type of rhythm was a challenge. We started off walking, then very quickly began hiking, and the Steve says “this is great!” and attempts to show off his mastery of the snowshoe but sprinting about 3 feet ahead of Rachel and then starts hiking again. Meanwhile, Rachel was getting bored with the hiking and decides it’s time to start running. So running it is and we now moving at a good pace, crest the hill and make out way through an open field. The snow is in great condition as many snowshoers and skiers have traveled it over the weekend. Then we come to a steep down hill in which we fly down like pros. There were even some cross-country skiers there to cheer us one. Like all things in running “what goes down, must go up”, so we begin to climb again. Then the trail flattens out a bit as we travel through the woods. This is where Rach decides to give Steve a little love tap and clip his snowshoes. Steve looks over at Rachel and says what was that for and she said you were slowing down…geeze. We then pop out at the top of a small hill. The snow was a little fluffier here and A LOT deeper. Steve took off down the hill kicking up 6ft of powder while Rachel decided she was getting tired of getting snow kicked on her, hung back a bit, then as Steve was in the process of resuming the position, you know where he follows Rachel (see San Diego), something happens. Almost like a snow angel from above decided to fly down and trip him, he finds his feet crossed and next thing you know, he is face down in 2 feet of snow yelling “HELP”! Rach is now a little ahead of him and FINALLY looks back to see him trying to get up. She then stops… nice you might say right…maybe if it weren’t for the fact she stopped to catch her breath from laughing so hard. I guess this is one of things that Rachel loves so much about Steve, the fact that he is clumsier than she is and has a lot of practice laughing at himself. We then make the long climb up to Pine Hollow, take the Salt Run trail to the Lake trail and then through the toboggan tunnel and then back to the truck.
This was a great first experience with our snowshoes and now we are hooked! We plan on using our snowshoes at least once per week. It’s a great exercise, more challenging than trail running, utilizes different muscle groups than normal running, and a great way to embrace Mother Nature during the winter months. Heck, maybe we will even get good enough where we will find a snowshoe ultra marathon to do….now that would be an adventure!
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