Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Snowshoeing On the Back Forty

A few years ago, the local cheapo depot store, the kind that gets closeouts from other stores and sells things at ridiculous prices, had some snowshoes for like $8.  This is the kind of store that when you see something like that, you think "for $8, I'm willing to give it a whirl".  That, of course, is how they stay in business!

I can't remember if k-ster bought them for me or if I bought them for me.  They came with a nice little storage bag and they get used about once a year.

I don't know anything about snowshoes, except that in cartoons, they always look like tennis rackets, and I don't know if these are normal, but they work for me.

You strap your boots into them with a ratcheting strap like on a ski boot.  They look nothing like a tennis racket.  They are like a mini ski in their shape.  These are just a metal frame with a piece of plastic for the sole.  There are some little metal teeth under the ball of the foot, presumably for digging into ice, but they don't do much.

 Then you go clomping around the great outdoors, leaving footprints like Bigfoot and scaring people who think the Abominable Snowman might really exist.

You do still sink into the snow, but because they are shaped like a ski, the front keeps your toes from sinking in, so you can easily pick up your foot.  And you only sink a little bit, compared to how deep it is.

I used them to walk around the campground to look for tree damage.  They were perfect because the snow is like 8 inches deep.

It's fun to walk across the field and not have to sink down into the snow.

I didn't wear my snowpants because it wasn't too cold when I went out.  I forgot that as you walk, the snowshoes flip up, like a flip flop, and spray snow everywhere.   If you get really moving, you have a spray of snow coming up behind you like a smokestack.

 So, by the time I finished, my pants were soaked through.
 It's been a while since I've shown a picture of my butt.  Savor it.

Linking here:
http://www.myturnforus.com/2014/02/freedom-fridays-with-all-my-bloggy_20.html

2 comments:

  1. I love snowshoeing! I haven't done it in years though. Hopefully I'll have another chance before winter's over. (I'm sure I will.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have never snowshoed, but my kids actually just did it last week for the first time. I think I am posting pictures sometime next week (I am behind).

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