Snowshoes and Sleds

Thru-hiker, Fox and I got together last night for a snowshoe excursion and the topics of tents and self preservation came up.

My 6moons Lunar Solo tent was delivered to my door the other day. When I got home there was a shriek, a ripping open of the package, and an inspection of the product. I wanted so badly to set it up but I didn’t want to bring it outside in the snow, after all it is a three season tent. Instead, I brought it up to my room, unfurled the nylon layers and spread it out on my floor. I did not have stakes, nor would they have been of any use on a wooden floor, so instead I duct tapped the corners down and erected my home with my hiking pole. Of course the canopy was not as taut as it should have been but I was able to unzip the screen door and settle in with my sleeping pad. For two minutes I was on the trail.

Fox relayed a similar story. He received his tent on a Friday night. Since there was snow outside, he had to work with his carpeted living room floor. So instead of going out and getting hammered he hammered away at home. In place of stakes he used nails, which he banged into his floor to tack down his tent. He shut off the lights and crawled in with his sleeping bag and pad. Now that is a funny scene.

I wonder if all thru-hikers experience a heightened sense of self preservation during the months leading up to their departure. Before Fox headed out he explained that he cut back on risky activities. “If I was hiking, the minute I felt sore I would stop,” he explained. I have felt the same way. I almost turned down an invite to go snowboarding for fear of wiping out and getting hurt.

Have you ever night snow shoed up a mountain to sled down one of the ski trails with head lamps? Now I can say that I have.

Thru-hiker Fox and I began trudging at 10pm after the mountain closed. The trailhead began at the parking lot and crossed over a few of the ski trails and wound up to the summit. We took turns posing on the chair lift with snowshoes raised and a frozen cheeked smile for the camera. With the wind chill, the temperature was below zero at the top.

These sleds were the lightweight rollup type with handles. I held my snowshoes and polls across my lap, raised my feet and went spiraling down the ski trail. 

It was awesome! The night was clear with a banana moon. Lindt chocolate and hot cocoa was the perfect ending to a perfect adventure.