expeditions often involve long hours of hard work, getting somewhere--and back--that seems significant, maybe even extreme. they usually include multiple people, but a solo journey can certainly qualify. the word epic sometimes fits the effort.
a few weeks ago, over four days, i spent a good number of hours at the lower shaker wildlife management area, working trails for the annual shaker museum snowshoe fest. i had already put in a bunch of solo days clearing blowdowns. on one long afternoon, with a chain saw, going well into dark, i cut out a dozen big trees and managed to get pam all worried.
it took two days of marking, thursday with a team of joanie, susan and i, and friday with harrison. saturday, harrison, joanie, and i re-grouped and stationed ourselves at strategic spots to help guide snowshoers on the three different trails.
sawyer also joined us on saturday and led a couple of younger gentlemen with intellectual disabilities. travis, a former student i had in a couple of classes, was as enthusiastic as ever.
enthusiasm was a good thing as it was really windy--as in really, really windy--and plenty cold. we fitted snowshoes inside the cellar of the stone mill, and didn't take our jackets off.
a while after they left, i took off in the opposite direction and ended up meeting them on the down hill part of their trail with a sled.
the surface was frozen and really fast--as in, again, really, really fast--so for their first run on the 'big hill', we started from a ways down. soy took a panorama of us getting ready. trevor was first to try it and whooped pretty much the whole way. we got a second sled and they went down racing each other, with twice the volume.
an hour or so later i went back to coax them in to warm up and eat some lunch. i didn't see them again until at the very end of the day as i was packing up snowshoes. their two pairs were leaning against the mill. they were back up on the hill sledding! i wish i would have gotten a picture of that fun.
the next morning, i met harrison really early--ok, not all that early, but before harrison usually gets out and about. we split up and swept the flagging from all the trails, managing to gather them all in less than two hours, without crisscrossing, as if we planned it.
it was a fine four days to be outside and playing!
ps thanks again to: joanie, susan, harrison, and sawyer on trails; carol and daughter on sleds; mvrhs honor society students, peggy, happy, and clark on snowshoes; ll bean-ers on crafts...
a few weeks ago, over four days, i spent a good number of hours at the lower shaker wildlife management area, working trails for the annual shaker museum snowshoe fest. i had already put in a bunch of solo days clearing blowdowns. on one long afternoon, with a chain saw, going well into dark, i cut out a dozen big trees and managed to get pam all worried. it took two days of marking, thursday with a team of joanie, susan and i, and friday with harrison. saturday, harrison, joanie, and i re-grouped and stationed ourselves at strategic spots to help guide snowshoers on the three different trails.
sawyer also joined us on saturday and led a couple of younger gentlemen with intellectual disabilities. travis, a former student i had in a couple of classes, was as enthusiastic as ever.
enthusiasm was a good thing as it was really windy--as in really, really windy--and plenty cold. we fitted snowshoes inside the cellar of the stone mill, and didn't take our jackets off.
a while after they left, i took off in the opposite direction and ended up meeting them on the down hill part of their trail with a sled.
the surface was frozen and really fast--as in, again, really, really fast--so for their first run on the 'big hill', we started from a ways down. soy took a panorama of us getting ready. trevor was first to try it and whooped pretty much the whole way. we got a second sled and they went down racing each other, with twice the volume.
an hour or so later i went back to coax them in to warm up and eat some lunch. i didn't see them again until at the very end of the day as i was packing up snowshoes. their two pairs were leaning against the mill. they were back up on the hill sledding! i wish i would have gotten a picture of that fun.
the next morning, i met harrison really early--ok, not all that early, but before harrison usually gets out and about. we split up and swept the flagging from all the trails, managing to gather them all in less than two hours, without crisscrossing, as if we planned it.
it was a fine four days to be outside and playing!
ps thanks again to: joanie, susan, harrison, and sawyer on trails; carol and daughter on sleds; mvrhs honor society students, peggy, happy, and clark on snowshoes; ll bean-ers on crafts...
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