Day 1: Never have I ever.... Gone snowshoeing!

I love the fluffy white stuff. It's so purty. I usually appreciate the snow in one of two ways: 1) zooming down a groomer, or 2) watching it fall gently through the window as I sip cocoa next to the fire. See, I don't really like to be cold. I hate it, in fact. So it's safe to say you won't find me as winter outdoorsman without a Thermos full of whine.

But yesterday I strapped on some stainless steel 26" snowshoes and traversed 2.5 miles of the deep, snowy trails of Caleb Smith State Park Preserve on Long Island. I embarked on this expedition with D.Coops and his parents (who benevolently provided us with all our 'shoeing gear, and then whizzed ahead like agile gazelles on X-country skis). It was an easy skill to master, though getting the "right" stride took some experimentation. Due to our most recent blizzy, the blanket was 3' high, which really added to the cool-factor. It wasn't quite the graceful picture I'd imagined (us gliding across the top of a great expanse of the snow like Jesus on the Sea of Galilee,) the shoes and poles sunk in about 3-4 inches and we plodded along slowly and clumsily in our enjoyment.

Terribly unflattering photo of too-large snow clothes.
Dave eating a yellow snowball. 

Result: A stunningly beautiful winterscape and a surprisingly good workout! We wove our way around a winding creek, snow-covered trees, and pristine white meadows, and appreciated a glimpse of winter wildlife (fine, some ducks). Overall, it was a great new way to enjoy the outdoors in winter.  Being cooped up all season isn't good for our bods, and my lungs appreciated a few hours of crisp, fresh air. I'm not kidding about the good workout part, either. 90 minutes of this strange, new motion was exhausting! About 1.5 miles in, I tried to bitch out by taking the short route, but my snowbuddy kept me motivated and we did the full loop. I'm so glad we did.

Status: Success!