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glowing-fish
Feb 18, 2013

Keep grinding,
I hope you level up! :)
I went snow shoeing for the first time yesterday. I moved in with a friend, and he is big on the outdoors. He was going on a snowshoeing trip anyway, and so I rented a pair of snow shoes from REI and we went together.


This is in Washington State, in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. It was about seven miles round trip, we had to hike in on a forest service road for a few miles to get to the trailhead. Then it was a rougher, but more pretty and fun 1.8 miles to Falls Creek Falls, a spectacular and very loud and kind of scary waterfall. We were the only people on the trail.

I thought that snow shoeing would involve some type of specific skill, but after the first quarter mile of getting adjusted, it was just so natural that I forgot I was wearing them. The only time they caused problems was when I tried to back up suddenly and fell over. Also, at one point we took them off to cross a creek, and I was pretty tired and it was hard getting them back on. The buckles and straps are pretty easy at the start of the day, a lot less easy once you are cold and tired.

Even so, I would rate Snow Shoeing as something I would try again.

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SulfurMonoxideCute
Feb 9, 2008

I was under direct orders not to die
🐵❌💀

Snowshoeing is cool and good

glowing-fish
Feb 18, 2013

Keep grinding,
I hope you level up! :)

Picnic Princess posted:

Snowshoeing is cool and good

Thank you! I thought so! I would recommend that people who go snowshoeing go with at least one person that is experienced at it.

Levitate
Sep 30, 2005

randy newman voice

YOU'VE GOT A LAFRENIÈRE IN ME
congrats on not dying!

I want to try snowshoeing but probably not this winter, too much poo poo to buy and stuff to do

glowing-fish
Feb 18, 2013

Keep grinding,
I hope you level up! :)

Levitate posted:

congrats on not dying!

I want to try snowshoeing but probably not this winter, too much poo poo to buy and stuff to do

For the time and expense, its not exactly an easy draw. A lot of people, if they were going to go to the trouble of getting equipment and travelling to a location, would go for the more obvious thrill of downhill skiing or snowboarding. Snow shoeing is a lot of work for a not obviously fun payout.

SulfurMonoxideCute
Feb 9, 2008

I was under direct orders not to die
🐵❌💀

A lot of places where I live rent snowshoes for cheap because the parks want visitation numbers to increase but don't want to pay to maintain tracks for skiing everywhere. There are a few official track routes maintained, but shoeing is definitely more promoted. Places like Sunshine Meadows and a lot of the frozen lakes are great for shoeing because they're massive wide open spaces and it's nice to just wander around any which way. And with our freeze thaw freeze thaw weather, the ground can often have really uneven snow crust which is easier to traverse in foot IMO

Plus Canada is stereotyped for snowshoes so tourists want to do it for the novelty

glowing-fish
Feb 18, 2013

Keep grinding,
I hope you level up! :)

Picnic Princess posted:

A lot of places where I live rent snowshoes for cheap because the parks want visitation numbers to increase but don't want to pay to maintain tracks for skiing everywhere. There are a few official track routes maintained, but shoeing is definitely more promoted. Places like Sunshine Meadows and a lot of the frozen lakes are great for shoeing because they're massive wide open spaces and it's nice to just wander around any which way. And with our freeze thaw freeze thaw weather, the ground can often have really uneven snow crust which is easier to traverse in foot IMO

Plus Canada is stereotyped for snowshoes so tourists want to do it for the novelty

Oh, aren't they just called "shoes" in Canadian?

SulfurMonoxideCute
Feb 9, 2008

I was under direct orders not to die
🐵❌💀

glowing-fish posted:

Oh, aren't they just called "shoes" in Canadian?

No because it's really hard to ride our moose with them on so we save them for the moose holidays when they refuse to work

ExecuDork
Feb 25, 2007

We might be fucked, sir.
Fallen Rib
Yeah, moose really hate it when your snowshoes slap their flanks on the way to the liquor / weed store.

My GF scored a pair of snowshoes for me at a charity sale - think garage sale, but run by the local animal shelter - for $20. They're fantastic and I love them; this winter they're staying in the back of my truck in case the opportunity strikes.

I've got pictures from around xmas 2014 when we went up around Bow Lake in the Canadian Rockies. Picnic Princess has probably been there, but I hadn't been up that way before and it was spectacular.

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SulfurMonoxideCute
Feb 9, 2008

I was under direct orders not to die
🐵❌💀

ExecuDork posted:

Yeah, moose really hate it when your snowshoes slap their flanks on the way to the liquor / weed store.

My GF scored a pair of snowshoes for me at a charity sale - think garage sale, but run by the local animal shelter - for $20. They're fantastic and I love them; this winter they're staying in the back of my truck in case the opportunity strikes.

I've got pictures from around xmas 2014 when we went up around Bow Lake in the Canadian Rockies. Picnic Princess has probably been there, but I hadn't been up that way before and it was spectacular.

I was actually planning on going there on Sunday, but ended up at Minnewanka instead because we pissed around at home too much and by the time we got to Banff it was after sunset. Been to Bow lots in summer, though.

Minnewanka is still nice though, but the snowpack is too low to need snowshoes, it was only maybe 2" deep on the lake.

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