Homer's Travels: Distance Reconsidered

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Distance Reconsidered

As I sit inside looking at the snow coming down, I am still thinking about going snowshoeing on Thursday. After a couple days of shoveling snow I've come to the conclusion that temps in the teens and twenties aren't so bad. Yesterday I got up at 6:20AM and shoveled the drive so that the Wife could get out. It was 11°F (-11.667°C). While my fingers ached for the first 15-20 minutes, as I worked, I warmed up and my hands were fine.

I am reconsidering the length of the hike. Fifteen miles would be fine in boots with snow in the inch deep range but the forecast is now for nine to ten inches on top of the two inches already on the ground with temperatures in the teens. Snowshoes will be a must. After reading about snowshoeing, and after reading comments from
GeekHiker and Godefroy, I think a more realistic distance would be two to five miles. I suspect I will be the only fool out on the trace so I will be blazing the snowshoe trail. Breaking new trail on snowshoes sounds like a slow slog. It will be especially slow as I'm a noobie.

I think I've got what I need. Snowshoes, a pair of trekking poles, water bottles, GPS, long underwear, warm socks (two pairs when I'm in my boots), gloves,
balaclava, layers.

Whatever happens on Thursday, it will be interesting.

3 comments:

  1. I highly recommend layers, too. My experience breaking trail is that I'm often down to a t-shirt from my efforts, then layering up the moment I stop. I also highly recommend the snowshoe baskets for your trekking poles, if you can find them.

    Have you seen the new boots that are rechargeable and electrically heated? I'm currently geeking out over those...

    Can't wait to see the tale of your adventure!

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  2. GH: I've heard of those but I'm more interested in heated gloves which I have also heard off.

    Godefroy: So for not luck. I'm worried that the wind we had blew all the snow of the wabash tgrace - the trail is raised is parts and the snow may have been blown off the trail.

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