Snow Without Tracks

By snowshoe, snowboard, toboggan or x-country ski, being surrounded by smooth snow makes you feel  as if you were the first person to be there.

One day when he is older, will this child remember how I explained to him that there are people in the world who LOVE fresh powdery snow?  It was his first time on a snowboard and I think he just wanted to go down as FAST as possible, fortunately, the snow cushioned his many falls, as he made his track going straight down the hill.

While going down the road might not be common by ski,  the snowplow never puts the blade down low enough to touch gravel, so I just go to my "trails" by road.  I suppose if Clark's Crossing became more popular, I would detour this scenic stretch of road, but as it is, I never meet anyone cars.  If a vehicle were coming, I would hear it long before it would meet me.

The trails we make with our  own skis have become my favorite.  Our little trails go where no noisy machine dare follow!  There is nothing so serene as being surrounded by smooth snow in the silence of winter.

Trails Leading to the Your Door

View of the River from the Little Blue House in December

Snowmobilers sometimes go down the road in front of the little blue house.  There is a connector trail that passes here.  It joins the Tri-Lakes Snowmobile Club trails to the south and the Sprucewoods Snodrifters trails to the north.  Their groomer, run by a volunteer, goes by sometimes more often the the snowmobilers themselves.  They have a warming shack not far from here, on the north side of the river.  Their trails run from here to Spruce Woods Park, and also down to Wawanesa, and south to Ninette and Killarney.  They must run by some beautiful scenery.  

This snow right now is perfect for snowshoeing.  When it was too fresh and powdery I sank right in, but now.... there's a stiffer layer, so I can actually stay on top.  No, I don't know a hundred words for the types of snow, but I do like to play in it.  Last year we built quinzes for the fun of it, this year I want to make a snow sculpture.  That means I better get piling it up.  Last night as we pulled the toboggan home from our New Year's outing to the "neighbour's", the little D was inspired to sing and the big R was explaining to the kids how the stars were actually suns.  Big D was running up ahead in the dark and A was busy taking it all in.  

For cross-country skiing, I am quite happy to use the snowmobile trails through the deep snow.   It was -25 the other day, but sheltered from the wind down here, it was perfect for a quick ski.   Today it is MUCH warmer, and I think that I'll take a good hour to enjoy the trails.   All you need to enjoy this time of year is the proper clothing.  If you want to look fashionable, you are going to pay more than the price of your clothing, you'll have cold feet to boot.   My best pair of socks ever came this year from my cousin in northern Alberta, who raises alpacas.  These socks are so soft, warm and thick.  I look forward to raising my own alpacas in the future so that I can learn to use Grandmaman Gigi's loom to weave some beautiful, warm scarves with alpaca fibre. 

I remain convinced that winter is the most beautiful time of year at Clark's Crossing, even though few know about it.  There isn't a lot of traffic out here, but I am thankful for the visitors we had over the holiday season.  It was a good way to bring in 2011.

Cheers amigos!

Sheila