Winter Learning Curve

It's been almost two years since we moved to Spokane. It's our SECOND winter, and we're getting a lot of shock from others who find out that we STILL have never attempted skiing. Caleb's been asked to go skiing or snowboarding with friends, and has had to admit that he doesn't know how.

Admittedly, it's been taking us awhile to get acclimated to the new possibilities in the realm of winter outdoor fun. For starters, it can be really expensive, especially when you don't already have the gear. Just keeping all the growing bodies equipped with snow boots, coats, gloves and pants is a feat! However, it HAS been sitting in the back of my mind...the desire to get out into the cold and try something new. Put my Southern California girl away and put on my snow bunny pants.

So, when I saw that REI was offering a beginning snowshoeing class, I jumped at the chance to learn more and give this simple sport a go.

Caleb was my date to the class and we learned all about what to take and wear, as well as the different styles of snowshoes to consider when buying your own. Then we got to try on some rentals and take them for a whirl. 

Unfortunately, there hasn't been much snow this year, so our area was limited at the Riverside Bowl and Pitcher State Park, but we were able to get the idea and see how effective they are on ice. Boy, would those have been handy when we attempted our MLK Jr. Day hike in Liberty Lake!

One thing that I'd never realized, although it seems so obvious now, is that snowshoeing is basically just hiking with big platforms on your feet. So, practically anywhere you might hike in the summer, would be a place you could snowshoe in the winter...providing that you actually get some snow. And I also found out that Mt. Spokane actually has dedicated snowshoeing trails!

I'm really hoping that Costco carries them again this next year. I had seen them on sale and thought about buying them, but my analytical "know before I buy" sense kicked in and I didn't. Darn! I need to try taking some risks and just going for it more often. I want to get outdoors!