Tricia, Trevor and Oriole go snowshoeing!

On the 21st and 22nd of February a bunch of people went snowshoeing. Everyone had met before, because we call go climbing, but we'd never all had an outdoor adventure together before. Plus, I've not been snowshoeing since I was...a Girl Scout, in 5th grade, I think! At first, I wasn't sure what to think of it...


"Seriously? We're going up that!? Yes, it was quite the climb. We started trekking in on a snow mobile path, and then turned into the Cedar Swamp. Much like the Fire Swamp, except instead of ROUSs there were TOUSs (Trees of Unusual Size). They were standing, laying down, a few even jumped out at me - really! After that part of the trek came the up, up, up. Otherwise known as Farther Up and Farther In. There were some serious pitches involved at that point, we were climbing a mountain, after all. Mt. Houghton! (No, Not Mt. Ripley, where the ski hill is IN Houghton, MI, this is about an hour NE.) We eventually made it to the top...

Above are Trevor and I, being cute and enjoying the view from the top, before we had to go back down! I discovered down is faster, scarier, and quite a bit of fun, when you get the hang of it. We stopped then for lunch, and I had to do damage control. The firs tpair of shoes I was using, or perhaps it was my boots, gave me the WORST blisters on my heels. But, Nexcare bandages and Duct Tape saved the day! Yay for 3M! Then it was out to Hungarian Falls, to look at the nice waterfalls. A much easier Trek, which was good, cause it was the same day!

Above are Adriane, Kelsey, and I pose for a scenic picture on the way to the falls. I had traded shoes with Adriane for the second trip, and was much happier (and more stable) in the new ones. YAY for falling down less! We tromped to the falls, threw snowballs, and then slid down hills on our way back to the car. I was getting better at sliding down hills, but when the oportunity to jump OVER this branch arrived, I had a much better idea...

Why not pose for a cute photo op! Yup, here I am, quite happy to be almost done for the day. Pickled Eggs anyone?! After the day of snowshoeing, we headed back for a shower, and then hit downtown Houghton for some beer and pickled eggs. I had root beer at the KBC, and it was quite delicious. We set a 2 egg limit per person, so as to minimize discomfort to our fellow cabin mates. The next day we headed to Red Ridge to play on the ice, and look at the falls. The falls were quite lolvely really, and Trevor is quite good at artistic photos. He crawled UNDER the waterfall to take this lovely shot ofrom inside of the tree hanging over the edge.

Yes, the orientation on the above is correct. Then, it was time for some serious snowshoe fun! Trevor found a nice ice ledge, and decided to play Abomitable Snowshoer while jumping off!

"Ooh! That looks like fun, I want to try!" says I. Off I go, wheee! I prefer the airplane method, myself...

Now, EVERYONE try it!!!

After Red Ridge, it was time to pack and head home. We stopped at the rest stop outside Duluth to use the necessary, and discovered that poor Oriole had taken the brunt of the snowstorm we had driven through out of MI that morning. Icicles in her wheel wells! When we safely dropped Adriane and Kelsey off, we took her for a bath, and for a well deserved rest in the garage.

OOF! What a weekend, but it was fun. The next week, Trev and I headed to REI and purchased snowshoes of our own! I bought these:


I've used them twice now, both times this past weekend. I like them muchly, and can't wait for next winter to use them again. Yes, next winter - let's have spring now, please!