Snowshoes

I don't know much about the history of snowshoes. I don't even know what brand I own. What I do know is that I like the places they take me to a lot! Skinny trails, weaving in and out of trees, up and down hills, in places that grooming machines for cross-country skiiers couldn't ever manage.

When we were up north, a friend and I went on a three-hour snowshoe hike. It was fantastic! The views were great, the solitude was immense, and we only lost the trail a few times.  It had snowed quite a bit and in places the wind had blown much of the new snow into the trail, obscuring it.

We would see an impression in the snow ten feet ahead of us and another impression twenty feet ahead of that one. So we kept going, and sure enough when we got off the snow-blown ridge, the trail magically reappeared. (We also thought we were on the right track because the footing below us was mostly solid.  If we stepped off the trail, we usually went down a few extra feet into the snow.)

The only problem with snowshoes, at least my snowshoes, is that they get heavier as you walk.  Add to that however much snow you pick up with every footfall, and it is quite a workout.

I fell at least twice and had to crawl my way out of the snow and back onto the trail. My legs ached that evening and most of the next day. But my feet never got cold, and I would do it all over again to have that experience in the deep woods.

With lighter snowshoes next time?

Hiking In, Staying, & Then Out

Our amazing long winter weekend was held at a park with camper cabins and a long walk in.  The 1.7 miles is up a hill and then down the hill. Most people drag a sled with supplies and we were no different.  We carried backpacks with light items, but our food, cross-country skis and poles, and snowshoes were all tied on the sled.

It was fairly easy to pull the sled on level ground but much harder going up the hill.  We didn't arrive as early as we wanted to, so the end of our walk was by moonlight.  Luckily, it was a clear night with a full moon.  We were excited to get to the cabin.

The cabin has electricity and a heater set at 48° so the cabin doesn't freeze. Then there's a wood stove that we played with all weekend, trying to get the place to the optimum temperature, whatever that was.  There are two electric burners, an eclectic set of dishes and kitchen items, plus a 5 gallon container for water.  Oh, and beds for six.

The bathroom is about 100 yards slightly uphill.  Amazingly enough, it's heated and there are showers with hot water!

After lots of winter activities, the end of our trip came too soon and we hiked out after breakfast on President's Day.  It was snowing quite a bit.  The new snow made the walk out quite a challenge.

Just make sure the sled doesn't hit you from behind on the way down!

Back to Work

Yes, Virginia, I actually worked yesterday.  My school district needed some help with the mandatory statewide testing for English Language Learners (ELL students).  I administered the speaking portion of the test, which needs to be done one on one.  The high school I was at has close to four hundred students to be assessed.  Here's one of our rubrics.

The powers that be made me sign lots of papers that I wouldn't divulge any of the test content, so I can't tell you much about what I talked about all day long.  Suffice it to say that by the end of the testing window, I will probably be able to recite much of the test from memory.

The highlight of my day was being able to interact with the lovely high school students.  I know that's not a description many people would use to describe youngsters of that age, but they really were lovely.  They were interesting, knowledgeable, polite, and just generally energizing to be around.

By the end of the day, my throat was a bit hoarse and I had a headache.  It has been a long time since I got up and out of the house that early.  And I had to do it all over again this morning.  Oh well, I'm sure I will survive it somehow.  Most everyone else does.

Winter Weekend

We got back home last night after a four-day weekend up in the wintry north. Camper cabins, iced-over lakes, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, over ten inches of snow. . .   Here are some photos to whet your appetite for longer, thoughtful writings in the days to come.

Flurries, flurries, snow!  

Gorgeous weather, 

as long as we weren't driving!

The beautiful view from one of the cabins — not ours, boo-hoo.

Snow stacks 

in mysterious ways . . . 

is it a Presidential bust?

When I look at the many photos I took over the weekend, I am struck by the fact that they are mostly shades of black, white, and grey.  I will have to work to convey the multitudes of happy colors I see in my memory when I think of the long weekend.

Happy President's Day!

As today is a federally mandated holiday for bloggers, I'm doing the honorable thing and enjoying my day off.  For those of you that have a holiday, please do the same!

To all who still have to work today, a thought that might comfort you. (Or not.)

George Washington and Abraham Lincoln had to work on President's Day.

Short Film Trifecta

Last week I managed to see the last set of Oscar nominated short films, the live action films.  These are short stories to the novel that feature films provide.  I have to admit, I am not so fond of short stories.  I was also not overjoyed with this year's live action shorts.  That's mostly because they were a rather depressing lot.

Spousal abuse and possible death, boy soldiers in Africa (and actual death), and how we explain death to dying young children.  These were the themes of three of the live action shorts.  Which were all really good films.

The movie about the young boy who was dying was tearjerkingly sweet (in a good way).  How a caregiver attempted to comfort him and give him answers was impressive.  The film about flight from spousal abuse had me very agitated in my seat, provoking intense vicarious anxiety for those involved. And the story of the African boy soldier is painful and shocking and difficult to watch.  But probably very true to the reality of the situation.

Then there were two other lighter films.  First there was The Voorman Problem, a clever and fun story about a psychiatrist called to a jail to evaluate a prisoner who believed himself to be God.

But my absolute favorite film is entitled Pitääkö mun kaikki hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)  It was the shortest and funniest film of the bunch.  (This probably means it has no chance of winning the Oscar.)

It's a Finnish movie about a family who awakens late for a wedding.  The house looks as crazy and unorganized as mine and the mother can't believe how she has to do everything to get her husband and two girls out the door. The solution that the two girls find for the missing dresses is ingenious and hilarious. And the ending?

Well, it might be available for purchase on the internet starting some time in late February.  If I've intrigued you at all, throw a couple of bucks the filmmaker's way.  It's a fun seven minutes!

Too Many Priorities

It has occurred to me over the last couple of days that I may have too many priorities for my leave year. I want to revise my novel and build up to running a marathon and travel and take guitar lessons and see movies and read books and substitute teach and write a daily blog and get in shape, and learn about my computer and, and, and . . .

Something has to give.  And it seems that the specific priority I have to give up changes from day to day.  Earlier this week I gave up time revising my novel so that I could go to the gym to jog/walk on the treadmill.  Yesterday I gave up doing my new weight training workout so that I could go to the movies.  I gave up guitar lessons a while ago (but I'm still going back to it, or so I believe.)

If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.  I'll be spending the next couple of days trying to figure out how to streamline my priorities.

How does writing, running, reading, relaxing sound?  Mmm, but I have to travel.  Back to the drawing board . . .