March 13, 2023 • 14 mins
Recently I managed to get out and snowshoe for the second time this year. In this week's epsiosde I dicuss what I learn from this and other snowshoeing experiences including some that would make Red Foreman use his catch phrase.
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Unknown (00:04):
Hello there friends, both old and new. Welcome to the
Strive Seek Find podcast. I'myour host, Chance Whitmore, home
to bite size, lifestyle advicefrom a fellow traveler on the
road to a better life. Broughtto you by someone who is a
longtime educator, writer,parent, and an outdoor
(00:27):
enthusiast, who may just maylike a good draft, because our
future is set not just throughour choices, but by our
willingness to explore and finda better way. Hello friends, I
(00:47):
had the opportunity to step outand do something with my wife
this weekend that I used toreally enjoy. Which is to say,
that wonderful walk in the woodswith aluminum strapped to your
feet and poles in your hand, notskiing, dear friends, obviously,
(01:12):
but snowshoeing. And while itwas Amy's first time. And my
second time this winter, it wasa good reminder of past
experiences. And what I likeabout doing this. And it makes
me really glad I invested in acouple of pairs of really cheap
(01:32):
snow shoes, so I can continue todo it for years to come. Now,
like most things, there'slessons that come out of this,
or at least reminders. In thiscase, probably the biggest
reminder is exactly how out ofshape I am. But that's beside
the point. First, I'm gonna lookback, then I'm gonna see the
(01:56):
now. Now let's get started. Backin December, I threw up some
pictures. And if I can find themagain, I'll throw those pictures
up again of some of the beautyaround where I grew up. In the
summer, I'd be out in thoseplaces quite regularly. In the
winter, if the snow machinewould make it, I'd be out there
quite regularly. But when you'rea young person living well out
(02:23):
of town, with your family in thewinter, there weren't a
tremendous amount of ways to getaway from each other. The house
wasn't that big. Theoutbuildings were what they
were, they weren't a greathangout spot. So you developed
ways to get out and about sothat you got some privacy,
(02:43):
whether it was snow machining,snowmobiling, to those of you
from other parts of thegeography of this country, or it
was cross country skiing at onepoint. I didn't adore it, but I
did. It occasionally was a greatpresent. I'm glad I learned it,
but I never felt reallycomfortable on it. And honestly,
(03:06):
you had to be on the snowmachinetrack anyways. So I can remember
getting this great idea that Iwas going to try out the antique
snowshoes that we had out in theoriginal farm building. The
(03:27):
original farm building was theoriginal cabin that was built on
the homestead. And while thesnowshoes probably didn't date
from then they were not what youwould call even modern snowshoes
from the 1980s. They were thewood, leather and sinew models,
(03:49):
only because they were this old,the bindings, were not what you
would call intact. So at myfather suggestion, I grabbed a
couple of chunks of inner tubeand stretched him over there.
And so begins my first attemptat snowshoeing. I was warned. I
(04:14):
was definitely warned that whatI had thought about was a really
bad idea. I think Jim's actualwords were you probably should
stay up on top of the canyonwith this and try it out and see
if you like it. But you know, Iwas a teenager. I knew better. I
(04:35):
grabbed my backpack through alittle bit of Boy Scout water,
newspaper matches, can a chiliinto my backpack and started
out. I decided I was going downto the crick in the summer,
maybe a 10 minute walk and theroute I was going to have to go
(05:00):
We'll keep it from being toosteep. Maybe a 15 minute walk.
But no big deal. It shouldn't bethat hard. At this point, dear
friends, you should be hearingred Forman from that 70 Show in
your head going down mass. Istrap them on, off I go. Slow
(05:24):
going, they're heavy. I don'tknow how exactly how heavy. By
the time I got back, they feltlike they weighed a million
pounds on each foot along thecanyon wall, huffing and
puffing, thinking while this isa great idea, it's not going to
get much harder than this. Andthen I drop off the side of the
(05:46):
canyon is following the road.
But it was one of those winterswhere it blew and dropped powder
in the canyon. So you didn'thave a nice thick crust to walk
out cross. You had powder. And Iwas kind of sitting on top of
it. At least partway. I'm gonnaguess the snowshoes were 10
(06:11):
pounds and they spread my weightout really, really nicely. But
down I went slow going. And I'msoaked in sweat. By the time I'm
a third of the way down thehill. And I'm hating it. But I
figure I get to the bottom, havea nice quiet fire. I've got my
hatchet with me. I have plantsthis is going to be incredible.
(06:37):
And then my foot slides out ofthe inner tube. And I step right
off of my snowshoe Have you everhad that moment where you have
your own knee hitch in the jawbecause your other foot stepped
(07:01):
out into the snow and you wentall the way to your hip? That
was that moment. I'm sure Iinvented a new yoga pose on this
moment.
Possibly called resting teenageidiot. That's as polite as I can
(07:24):
be about young me at that point.
Now the foot that was off, stillhadn't hit the ground. There was
still snow below me and itwasn't packed any more than the
stuff that my I had already gonethrough. So I had to move
snowshoes around because I hadnothing to push off on and kind
of crawl myself back up onthere. By the time that was
(07:47):
over, both feet were out of thesnow shoes, and I was laying on
top of them. Just gaspee isready to call it quit go home.
But I also realized that wasgoing to be really tough. I had
to figure out how to get themstrapped back on my feet without
(08:07):
tipping over again and startworking my way back up. So I
laid there a little bit, got mybreath back and then got myself
strapped up and started to tryto talk myself on going further
down the hill. Because therestill was another drop off. I
had to go over before I couldget to where I was gonna go. And
(08:30):
I started that way and about 10minutes later, I hear the snow
machine just work in its gutsout. Probably shouldn't have
been down there. My fatherdecided to check on his stubborn
son and his progress. So hewrote that sucker down, spun it
around, ran it back up. Iimagining he was giggling
(08:53):
because he had that sense ofhumor. But he repacked a trail.
I kind of took the out. And hejust told me to get my rear end
up the hill and I did. I gotover on the pack snowmachine
trail and went back up the hilland didn't touch a pair of
snowshoes for probably 15 years.
And I'd never attempt thoseagain. What brought me back was
(09:18):
when my parents snow machineswere broken. And mom and dad had
gotten started at it. So I triedit out. I enjoyed it. And
whenever I went home, I woulddig them out and use them. They
(09:39):
were technically too small so Isunk a little further. But it
gave me an opportunity to getout. Which of course brings me
back to this weekend. I hope I'msmarter than I was as a teenager
But, you know, sometimes you aresometimes you aren't. I had
(10:02):
ordered snowshoes that actuallyfit my feet, but hadn't had them
out yet. So it was a little bitof a train wreck getting me up
on him. And it was Amy's firsttime, and we were with some
experienced friends. So it wascool. What it brings back to me
and why I always did this, whenI was at my parents place comes
(10:24):
down to some simple thing.
There's nothing more peacefulthan at least the illusion of
being away from people.
And the silence that comes withbeing out in the snow, letting
(10:44):
it absorb all the sound. Andjust walking and enjoying what
you're surrounded by the pinetrees, being able to see a great
distance looking down into thevalley below. It was amazing.
(11:06):
And we only made it a few miles.
But it brought a lot back to me.
I can't begin to describe themoment of peace that I felt on
what was a walk along a ridgeline. And not a long walk. But
(11:29):
it was enough that the peace,the quiet. The lack of people
allowed us to really enjoy andbe in that moment. Let me tell
you, I've needed this for a fewweeks, months, to be honest. And
getting out there really helpedhow I felt in a way that going
(11:52):
to the gym never does. Thecombination of getting a good
workout in with the ability tobe surrounded by nature is
extremely powerful for me and Ican't urge you enough to do it.
It's what I was seeking evenback then as I don't know how,
(12:14):
what year I was my teenageyears. I was obviously not
terribly thoughtful to try thatstunt without having practiced.
And what did I take away fromthis other than piece one, check
the weather report. Because fiveinches of snow on the top of the
ski hill. And it doesn't matterwhat time you try to head up
(12:36):
there. You're looking for a twohour drive to go. What should be
30 minutes to get to your trail,sharing a new experience with my
wife, as always incredible. Thehealing nature of getting out in
the woods. The times I strugglethe most with that. Remembering
(12:59):
it at least is the times I needit the most. And last one last
thing. And just because youdidn't enjoy something in your
youth or had a bad experiencewith it, somewhere along the
line. Be open to tryingsomething again and act activity
(13:20):
that might bring you joy. Learna little bit more about it and
try it again. Because you neverknow how you might have changed
along the way. And that myfriends is it for this week's
episode. special programmingnote wanted to thank my
(13:41):
anonymous donor who left a verynice donation on buy me a coffee
for me this week. And it will gotowards buying a second mic for
this setup making the interviewsthat I do in person that much
easier to do. Well friends,that's it for this week's
edition of strife seek find.
Thank you again for listening.
(14:05):
If you'd like to join thediscussion, or have ideas for
future episodes, hop on over tothe strife seek fine podcast
group on Facebook.
Alternatively, if Facebook's notyour thing, you can find me on
Instagram at strife seek findpodcast on Twitter, as at chance
Whitmore five, or even on email.
(14:29):
The links for all those are inthe show notes below. Until next
time, my friends keep seekingyour own brilliant future
Hello there friends, both old and new. Welcome to the
Strive Seek Find podcast. I'myour host, Chance Whitmore, home
to bite size, lifestyle advicefrom a fellow traveler on the
road to a better life. Broughtto you by someone who is a
longtime educator, writer,parent, and an outdoor
(00:27):
enthusiast, who may just maylike a good draft, because our
future is set not just throughour choices, but by our
willingness to explore and finda better way. Hello friends, I
(00:47):
had the opportunity to step outand do something with my wife
this weekend that I used toreally enjoy. Which is to say,
that wonderful walk in the woodswith aluminum strapped to your
feet and poles in your hand, notskiing, dear friends, obviously,
(01:12):
but snowshoeing. And while itwas Amy's first time. And my
second time this winter, it wasa good reminder of past
experiences. And what I likeabout doing this. And it makes
me really glad I invested in acouple of pairs of really cheap
(01:32):
snow shoes, so I can continue todo it for years to come. Now,
like most things, there'slessons that come out of this,
or at least reminders. In thiscase, probably the biggest
reminder is exactly how out ofshape I am. But that's beside
the point. First, I'm gonna lookback, then I'm gonna see the
(01:56):
now. Now let's get started. Backin December, I threw up some
pictures. And if I can find themagain, I'll throw those pictures
up again of some of the beautyaround where I grew up. In the
summer, I'd be out in thoseplaces quite regularly. In the
winter, if the snow machinewould make it, I'd be out there
quite regularly. But when you'rea young person living well out
(02:23):
of town, with your family in thewinter, there weren't a
tremendous amount of ways to getaway from each other. The house
wasn't that big. Theoutbuildings were what they
were, they weren't a greathangout spot. So you developed
ways to get out and about sothat you got some privacy,
(02:43):
whether it was snow machining,snowmobiling, to those of you
from other parts of thegeography of this country, or it
was cross country skiing at onepoint. I didn't adore it, but I
did. It occasionally was a greatpresent. I'm glad I learned it,
but I never felt reallycomfortable on it. And honestly,
(03:06):
you had to be on the snowmachinetrack anyways. So I can remember
getting this great idea that Iwas going to try out the antique
snowshoes that we had out in theoriginal farm building. The
(03:27):
original farm building was theoriginal cabin that was built on
the homestead. And while thesnowshoes probably didn't date
from then they were not what youwould call even modern snowshoes
from the 1980s. They were thewood, leather and sinew models,
(03:49):
only because they were this old,the bindings, were not what you
would call intact. So at myfather suggestion, I grabbed a
couple of chunks of inner tubeand stretched him over there.
And so begins my first attemptat snowshoeing. I was warned. I
(04:14):
was definitely warned that whatI had thought about was a really
bad idea. I think Jim's actualwords were you probably should
stay up on top of the canyonwith this and try it out and see
if you like it. But you know, Iwas a teenager. I knew better. I
(04:35):
grabbed my backpack through alittle bit of Boy Scout water,
newspaper matches, can a chiliinto my backpack and started
out. I decided I was going downto the crick in the summer,
maybe a 10 minute walk and theroute I was going to have to go
(05:00):
We'll keep it from being toosteep. Maybe a 15 minute walk.
But no big deal. It shouldn't bethat hard. At this point, dear
friends, you should be hearingred Forman from that 70 Show in
your head going down mass. Istrap them on, off I go. Slow
(05:24):
going, they're heavy. I don'tknow how exactly how heavy. By
the time I got back, they feltlike they weighed a million
pounds on each foot along thecanyon wall, huffing and
puffing, thinking while this isa great idea, it's not going to
get much harder than this. Andthen I drop off the side of the
(05:46):
canyon is following the road.
But it was one of those winterswhere it blew and dropped powder
in the canyon. So you didn'thave a nice thick crust to walk
out cross. You had powder. And Iwas kind of sitting on top of
it. At least partway. I'm gonnaguess the snowshoes were 10
(06:11):
pounds and they spread my weightout really, really nicely. But
down I went slow going. And I'msoaked in sweat. By the time I'm
a third of the way down thehill. And I'm hating it. But I
figure I get to the bottom, havea nice quiet fire. I've got my
hatchet with me. I have plantsthis is going to be incredible.
(06:37):
And then my foot slides out ofthe inner tube. And I step right
off of my snowshoe Have you everhad that moment where you have
your own knee hitch in the jawbecause your other foot stepped
(07:01):
out into the snow and you wentall the way to your hip? That
was that moment. I'm sure Iinvented a new yoga pose on this
moment.
Possibly called resting teenageidiot. That's as polite as I can
(07:24):
be about young me at that point.
Now the foot that was off, stillhadn't hit the ground. There was
still snow below me and itwasn't packed any more than the
stuff that my I had already gonethrough. So I had to move
snowshoes around because I hadnothing to push off on and kind
of crawl myself back up onthere. By the time that was
(07:47):
over, both feet were out of thesnow shoes, and I was laying on
top of them. Just gaspee isready to call it quit go home.
But I also realized that wasgoing to be really tough. I had
to figure out how to get themstrapped back on my feet without
(08:07):
tipping over again and startworking my way back up. So I
laid there a little bit, got mybreath back and then got myself
strapped up and started to tryto talk myself on going further
down the hill. Because therestill was another drop off. I
had to go over before I couldget to where I was gonna go. And
(08:30):
I started that way and about 10minutes later, I hear the snow
machine just work in its gutsout. Probably shouldn't have
been down there. My fatherdecided to check on his stubborn
son and his progress. So hewrote that sucker down, spun it
around, ran it back up. Iimagining he was giggling
(08:53):
because he had that sense ofhumor. But he repacked a trail.
I kind of took the out. And hejust told me to get my rear end
up the hill and I did. I gotover on the pack snowmachine
trail and went back up the hilland didn't touch a pair of
snowshoes for probably 15 years.
And I'd never attempt thoseagain. What brought me back was
(09:18):
when my parents snow machineswere broken. And mom and dad had
gotten started at it. So I triedit out. I enjoyed it. And
whenever I went home, I woulddig them out and use them. They
(09:39):
were technically too small so Isunk a little further. But it
gave me an opportunity to getout. Which of course brings me
back to this weekend. I hope I'msmarter than I was as a teenager
But, you know, sometimes you aresometimes you aren't. I had
(10:02):
ordered snowshoes that actuallyfit my feet, but hadn't had them
out yet. So it was a little bitof a train wreck getting me up
on him. And it was Amy's firsttime, and we were with some
experienced friends. So it wascool. What it brings back to me
and why I always did this, whenI was at my parents place comes
(10:24):
down to some simple thing.
There's nothing more peacefulthan at least the illusion of
being away from people.
And the silence that comes withbeing out in the snow, letting
(10:44):
it absorb all the sound. Andjust walking and enjoying what
you're surrounded by the pinetrees, being able to see a great
distance looking down into thevalley below. It was amazing.
(11:06):
And we only made it a few miles.
But it brought a lot back to me.
I can't begin to describe themoment of peace that I felt on
what was a walk along a ridgeline. And not a long walk. But
(11:29):
it was enough that the peace,the quiet. The lack of people
allowed us to really enjoy andbe in that moment. Let me tell
you, I've needed this for a fewweeks, months, to be honest. And
getting out there really helpedhow I felt in a way that going
(11:52):
to the gym never does. Thecombination of getting a good
workout in with the ability tobe surrounded by nature is
extremely powerful for me and Ican't urge you enough to do it.
It's what I was seeking evenback then as I don't know how,
(12:14):
what year I was my teenageyears. I was obviously not
terribly thoughtful to try thatstunt without having practiced.
And what did I take away fromthis other than piece one, check
the weather report. Because fiveinches of snow on the top of the
ski hill. And it doesn't matterwhat time you try to head up
(12:36):
there. You're looking for a twohour drive to go. What should be
30 minutes to get to your trail,sharing a new experience with my
wife, as always incredible. Thehealing nature of getting out in
the woods. The times I strugglethe most with that. Remembering
(12:59):
it at least is the times I needit the most. And last one last
thing. And just because youdidn't enjoy something in your
youth or had a bad experiencewith it, somewhere along the
line. Be open to tryingsomething again and act activity
(13:20):
that might bring you joy. Learna little bit more about it and
try it again. Because you neverknow how you might have changed
along the way. And that myfriends is it for this week's
episode. special programmingnote wanted to thank my
(13:41):
anonymous donor who left a verynice donation on buy me a coffee
for me this week. And it will gotowards buying a second mic for
this setup making the interviewsthat I do in person that much
easier to do. Well friends,that's it for this week's
edition of strife seek find.
Thank you again for listening.
(14:05):
If you'd like to join thediscussion, or have ideas for
future episodes, hop on over tothe strife seek fine podcast
group on Facebook.
Alternatively, if Facebook's notyour thing, you can find me on
Instagram at strife seek findpodcast on Twitter, as at chance
Whitmore five, or even on email.
(14:29):
The links for all those are inthe show notes below. Until next
time, my friends keep seekingyour own brilliant future
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