First Snowshoe Day this Winter

Went for two short snowshoe walks today. The first one I did on my traditional snowshoes.

I really prefer the way those feel on my feet, but since I hadn't really compared them in the same space, in the afternoon I walked with the Luna foam snowshoes that I took on the big hike.



Here's where I walk out back. The deer also like to use the trail where I got the grass whacked down. It was well-traveled before I went outside.

But when I get farther from the house, then I'm using a trail the deer made. This is harder walking because the grass isn't cleared.

Here's what I was walking on my first day in snowshoes a year ago. A little more "romantic." A lot harder.



So, now that I've worn them both on the same day, what do I think? Well, I really still like my wooden ones. However, they never would have been useable on the big hike. Sometimes I needed to take the snowshoes off and strap them to my backpack. The longer shoes wouldn't have been as easy to get over rocky terrain (where snow may not have completely covered things) or fallen logs.

However, I had to learn to be careful to get the velcro straps fully engaged with each other, and even then, they were sometimes a problem. As the day went on the velcro would clog with snow and ice, shortening the length where it was making contact and holding. Also, there is no left or right to these shoes. They are exactly the same except for the way the straps are mounted. Actually, this is also true of my wooden ones. However, the foam ones always seemed to be on the wrong feet no matter which way I wore them. Once again, they are made for bigger feet than mine and the ends of the velcro straps caught on things which led to the first problem mentioned above.

The wooden ones need new bindings. I was not able to make the military bindings work. I'm sure I can made bindings, but it's just added to the huge list of things I could/should do.

I will tell you that I must have been in great shape a year ago. I did a total of about a mile on them today and that was plenty!

In other news: client work in the morning. Pantry, research and writing. Vacation from DMS is up to 17,960 words.

See First Snowshoe Day Last Winter