The Barri (more than one Barrus): Field Trip Friday #25--Snowshoeing at Sundance

We got a bit of snow this week, although only in the mountains. It rained in the valley, but there was snow in them thar hills. After a beautiful morning cross-country skiing with Janie yesterday, I decided I would take the kids snowshoeing today. I was fairly certain there would be an awful lot of whining if I told the kids what we were doing, so this morning I said our field trip was a surprise and they would have to wait until after school. Quite frankly, however, I was so excited I could hardly keep it a secret.

When school was out and we were on our way home, both Brandt and Blythe wanted to know what we were doing. I didn't tell, but when I said I was super excited to go do it, Brandt got all excited and said, "Are we going skiing?" So close! When I said no, he said, "Snowshoeing?" Yes! Then I was surprised when they were both excited.

It was an absolutely glorious afternoon, with clear skies and warm temperatures. The snow was deep and soft, and everything was so beautiful. The kids thought the snowshoes were very funny and were goofy at the beginning about walking with them, but they quickly got used to them. Sort of. We were given a map and shown where to begin, and off we went. It was so warm, I had initially thought the kids snowsuits were unnecessary, but I was almost immediately proven wrong. Both Brandt and Blythe "tripped" and fell over before we'd gone ten yards up the trail, and continued to "trip" throughout the hike. We had, perhaps, three legitimate trips during our two hours of snowshoeing, but I hauled small bodies out of the snow every twenty yards or so. They could hardly keep themselves upright for all the fun they were having throwing themselves down.

This is the trail map of the cross-country skiing and snowshoeing area of Sundance. The nordic center is a yurt which the kids thought was funny. They wanted to see the map and where we might go. The man who outfitted us with snowshoes showed me a suggested route, beginning at A and following the trail to D, then around F, back to E, to L, and down towards N and back to the beginning at K. He pointed out that G through H was very steep, as indicated by the name "Whoa Nellie!" Blythe, who was watching and listening, said, "I want to go there! Mom! We have to go there!" I asked if she understood what "Whoa Nellie!" meant, but she didn't care. She wanted to go.

We launched out, and before we'd even made it to point B, Brandt and Blythe were both saying, "Can we be done now?" They were having a great time, but it's hard work tromping through the snow with funky shoes strapped to your feet, and they were feeling it. I did manage to convince them to carry on, especially as I had no intention of turning back and we had only just begun. We got to D and they wanted to quit, but by then, we were too far to turn back. I suggested we cut off the F loop and just go right to E, but then Blythe saw that we'd be missing the turn to Whoa Nellie! and wanted to continue. She didn't really want to continue, but admitting that she didn't want to hike that much was not an option, and she complained about how mean I was not to take us there all the rest of the hike, while simultaneously complaining that we were taking too long.

We had much throwing of selves down in the snow, we had much stopping to scoop up snow and smash it onto trees, we had much throwing of snow at objects stationary and moving. I got sort of short tempered with the children, but kept reminding them (and myself) how beautiful everything was and how much fun we were having. Brandt did ask if any of their cousins had ever been snowshoeing, and apart from Blake who might have gone while on a scout camp out, I didn't think anyone had. Brandt felt pretty good about himself after that. We really did have a good time and made it the whole round, getting back to the yurt just as the sun dipped behind Timp and the temperature began to drop. I was encouraged by the fact that the kids also expressed an interest in trying cross-country skiing. If we get any more snow this year, we may give that a go.