Lost and Found
I got my first pair of snowshoes when I was in highschool. I appreciated the ability to walk back into the woods, “off the beaten path”, and feel connected to nature, even when most of it was frozen or in hiding. Snow mobiles were too fast to my liking, making me numb with the cold. Skiing was too intimidating for me as well, making me fear broken bones. Cross country skiing was like being on a treadmill--going nowhere fast. Snowshoeing was safe, or so I thought. We were vacationing recently in Leadville, Colorado. The altitude was high, about 10,500’, and the snow this year was deep; if the snow hadn’t been walked on, it went up over my knees, even with snowshoes on. Sometimes it went up to my thigh! I got stuck a few times, so I decided not to try fresh snow again and waited until I found some groomed trails at the Cooper Mountain skiing area. It was perfect. The rest of the family did downhill skiing. I was...