Succumed to the wind chill darnit!

After a lovely outing yesterday at Walden Pond, we decided to continue with our great start in the new year and pack up the snowshoes again. This time we chose Pisgah Mountain in Northborough, MA. This trail has slightly more elevation gain, nothing compared to what we are used to. But its a new year, new location so we need to be flexible. Well, it didn't work out so well. We got a late start and when we left the house the temp with the wind chill was a frosty 12 degrees. 
Despite the weather we pulled Lander (our Toyota Highlander) out of the driveway and headed out to the trail. About halfway there it started snowing again but the snow melted immediately upon impact so it was probably going to be a wet day. It was already 2:30pm and we decided that we may be pushing our luck and getting ourselves into a dangerous situation. Figuring that the trail would be about 3 miles long and due to the days being shorter this time of year it would be a safe guess that we would still be in the woods at darkness. Not something I personally like getting myself into during the winter. We have a pack with food, fire starting materials and plenty of water- by no means will this matter as far as shelter is concerned.


I have always said that I can survive stranded in the woods in the summer no problem but the winter is another story. I will admit although I like getting out snowshoeing, I also value being able to hop into the car and arrive safely at my warm and cozy apartment with a steaming hot chocolate on my lap. I don't think I could last in below freezing temps in the woods with a foot of snow on the ground. Alright nough said about that.
So we scrapped the outing altogether and decided to visit my most favorite store in the whole world... drum role please... REI. Yes, folks I could buy everything in this store if I had the adequate funds. We picked up a necessity for us a snowshoeing book for the whole of New England- SCORE!  Through my research, I've found that not too many sites offer info on local snowshoe trails and trips on the east coast so this book is essential. I never recommend tromping into the woods without a map or explanation of the trail you are on. Better safe than sorry.
The book we picked up is Snowshoe Routes New England. By Diane Bair and Pamela Wright. Areas covered are Mass, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. 
Can't wait to get out and actually utilize this great find.


This weekend we hope to go to Pisgah State Park in Chesterfield, NH. More info on that to come.

First Hike of the New Year

Well,
It has been quite a while since we have spent a decent amount of time outdoors. Partially due the holidays but also due to a relocation from Oregon to the east coast. Now after much time spent settling into our new apartment  and long overdue visiting with family, we have finally decided to get some fresh air.
After some fresh powder blessed us this past weekend we broke out the snow shoes and decided to test them out on some east coast terrain. We drove to Walden Pond in Concord, MA. It appeared to be a nice start off to the season... 1.7 miles around a pond. No great elevation gain, so we gave it a shot. To our dissapointment, we didn't even pull our snow shoes out of the trunk upon arrival. This is partially our fault for having high expectations. Coming from Oregon back country in the mountains where the snow depth is above the summer time hiking signs nailed to trees, we were slightly disapointed when we discovered other fellow outdoorsey types tramping along the trail in winter boots. Anyways... we were outside and gave it a go. We followed suit and walked along the trail that surrounded the pond. It was quite beautiful in the snow. There was also quite a few cross-country ski trails radiating off the main trail and we made a mental note to get cross-country skis in the future. Below are some pics of the solitude we found.

 

All in all it was a good way to spend New Years Day. Starting 2010 off right. Goodness, I can't believe it is a new decade!