I'm a Snowshoer!

At least I was today. 

I was invited to go snow shoeing by my neighbor Karin and her sister in law Martina. Since I had just gotten some snow shoes for Christmas I excitedly said yes. I went over to Karin's at 9:00 am. We meat up with Martina and her kids and then drove up to the Provo Canyon. There is a trail/loop behind Vivian Park that we were going to conquer. It was a gorgeous drive. I love seeing Bridal Veil falls all icy. I need to go back for pictures. As we drove up the skies became clearer. In the valley we have some really nasty air lately thanks to the inversion. It was really nice to see the sun and to be under blue skies. 

Keep in mind I have never done anything like this before. It took us a while to get geared up and then we were off. We started off on a trail that went up a hill. Ouch. What a way to start. I was so excited to see Bambi and friends because it gave me a minute to stop, admire and catch my breath. 

After we climbed and winded up the hill we hit the meadow. It was huge and it was hard work because there were a lot of spots where the snow wasn't pack and we would sink.  

When we got half way across this meadow I was pretty much done. Like I said; we had just gone up a pretty major hill and it felt like we had already been going for a long time. I was wrong. I found out we had gone .5 miles of a three mile loop. Oh my goodness I knew I was going to die. 

It's so hard to capture how the snow sparkles. I promise it did though and it was magical. 

Look at that sky. Stunning. (Each time you see a picture though know it was an excuse for me to stop and breath. )

This is when I was asking "we're not turning around here? Really? We're not?" (Take note, one leg is sunk in the snow.)

BUUUUT, look at our view. Holy cow. Isn't that a gorgeous mountain? 

There is Martina way back on the trail. See how large this meadow is? Really it was huge and it was on a steady incline. By the time we crossed it I think it was close to noon. 

Finally we got to the "top" of where we were going. This picture does not do this justice. You really can't tell how high we are, how amazing the view is, how large that snow area is, you can't hear the stream. It's a shame you can't tell how magnificent it is but I will never forget how it felt standing right there.

I was pretty proud. At this point we had gone a mile. It would still be better to turn around but I didn't want to cross the meadow again so we kept going. And going. And going. 

At this point we started getting a second wind and a bad case of the giggles. We were going down, the view was amazing but all we could do was laugh at how long this was taking. 

Here is started to get cold again in the shade. Look at that big ball of snow in the trees. It was like a giant wasps nest. It was so interesting how all the little branches were "holding" it up like that. 

Toward the end of the trail we met up with the stream. It was almost other worldly. Everything near the water was frozen. The ice formed incredibly unique shapes. It was just awesome. I was ready to be done though. We had been at it for hours. Several hours. All I had brought was a half of a peanut butter sandwich and a bottle of water. I was hungry and my toes were wet and cold. It was a great adventure but I had a very busy day and really had no idea I would be gone so long. It was way longer than I ever could have ever imagined. Never in my life have I exercised for that long all at once. 

By the time I got home and got a shower Emma was only minutes from being home from school. I never did get a real lunch because the minute she got home I had to start driving kids to and from piano and take care of a bunch of other things I neglected by being away so long. 

I will totally snowshoe again. I love that there is no learning curve. If you can walk you can do this but it a way more challenging and a much better workout than walking. When I go again it will be someplace flat and I will be back in 45 minutes. I guarantee it LOL!   

Now I'm left hoping that I wont be too sore to move tomorrow.