Snowshoeing

Whenever I heard of someone going snowshoeing I always pictured Jeremiah Johnson with giant beard and matching giant woven snowshoes. Most likely made from supple willow branches and buffalo intestines. A couple of years ago my wife asked for a pair of snowshoes as an unlikely Valentines gift. My wife goes for romantic type stuff too, but I was quite happy to shell out for some outdoor gear, especially when I found out I wouldn't have to string up the snowshoes with some fresh buffalo guts. We found a good deal on some Atlas snowshoes made for Cabelas. They had nice features and weren't extremely pricey. She started going out snowshoeing on Saturdays with the Utah Velo club and had a lot of fun, but I was still sceptical of her inner Jeremiah Johnson.

After another winter of watching her come back from having a great time out in the snow filled canyons near our home I decided I'd like to give it a try. We headed back to Cabelas and bought a set of snowshoes for me, the same model, only bigger. Now we have a pile, really, literally a pile of snowshoes from which to choose on any given day that we go out. I only have two pair, sounds silly just typing that; only two pair, ha. My wife has 4 pair with another set on the way. Granted, most of these she has acquired as a product tester for Triedge.com, so it's not as if our children's college education has been reduced to the pile of snowshoes in the gear area of our basement. It's amazing how different snowshoes perform in different conditions. My Atlas are great for deep fresh snow, the kind I like to hit after a new snowstorm.

My other set, with their beautiful shining crampons covering the length of the platform, and which I have named "The Snowshoes of Justice" are from the Tubbs flex series. These don't perform as well in deep snow, but really shine when going up or down steep hills, and over technical terrain. I really like how they grip logs and other oddities that I encounter as I march around wherever I want. They're light and don't make a lot of noise. They also don't shoot show all over the back of your legs and back like my Atlas.

What I really enjoy about snowshoeing is that I can walk wherever I want. I enjoy hiking, but you're more of less confined to actual hiking trails. This is due to a combination of thick vegetation and a moral obligation to not trample small animals, insects, plants and other forest dwelling things. I also try to keep trails from getting wider and wider by staying on the existing path. In winter all bets are off. Snow covers everything. Vegetation is safely under a crust of snow and I can walk anywhere, including up very steep hills because of the crampons of justice that adorn my snowshoes. If regular hiking is freedom than snowshoeing is the William Wallace of hiking. Taking freedom to a whole new level. Want to get closer to that stream, walk on over. Want to see where those deer tracks to, head on out.

My favorite place to go snowshoeing is Big Springs up the South Fork in Provo Canyon. Sadly it's also popular with a lot of people. It's not uncommon to go up on a Saturday and mind hoards of BYU students with rented snowshoes packing down the trail. Because of this I usually try to get out first thing on a Saturday morning to beat the crowds. Even then sometimes I find I really have to head off trail to find some snow that isn't packed down so much that a pair of hiking boots would suffice. I can usually find something. Even when the trail gets somewhat packed down it can still be a lot of fun, especially when you're willing to head out really far. Just like hiking most people don't go out further than one hour will allow so if you just push on you'll find some great snow eventually. It's also a great cross training activity for cycling. I don't manage to get on my trainer much during the winter so I have to do something to keep my cycling muscles from disappearing.

Snowshoeing is eons away from the burly mountain man activity that I always envisioned. Go rent or buy some snowshoes, or if I really like you I might have a spare set somewhere to lend to you. Just stay out of the Big Springs area because someone keeps packing down all the new snow.