Today, hubby and I both took the day off to have a little date day for my birthday. got to do a little thrifting (and Value had a 50% off sale, like they knew it was my bday) and then, the plan was to head out to Ann and Sandy Cross Conservation Area to break in the two pairs of snowshoes I got for my birthday. A pair for me and a pair for hubby. See what I did there? Totally snuck a new winter sport into our family ;)
We actually got a pretty good deal on a couple of pairs. Costco has had these packages for a few years now where you get a pair of snowshoes, 2 poles and a carry bag for around $80.
Luckily, Mother Nature gave us a pretty nasty weekend but let it be ideal conditions for snowshoeing today by dumping a foot of snow on the ground and letting it warm up enough to make it bearable to trudge through.
That, and copious amounts of coffee, helped to make up for the lack of sleep the girlies gave us last night.
So, where was I? Oh yeah - we headed out to the conservation area around noon, when the thermometer finally hit -9C.
Don't my new, super warm winter boots make me look more Canadian? :P This is the first pair of winter boots I've owned in about 20 years. But a total necessity for an active winter.
We had a little snag with hubby's bindings, but eventually got them on him too
Being a weekday, it was deserted out here. Just us, a few deer and a herd of cows...it was AWESOME!
We did about a 5k loop. I totally forgot my Garmin at home and attempting to use Nike + in the cold caused my iPhone battery to go from full to zip in 1k. No joke. So I have no stats, but we figure it took around an hour and a half including stops for hubby and his camera. My dead phone ensured I got very few.
Luckily, hubby got more.
This one was of us right after we braved the herd of cows. What is it with me and black cows when I am adventuring on trails?
Overall, we managed to stay fairly warm out there. It wasn't cold util the last km when we were at the mountain lookout way up on the hill. Other than that, it was perfect weather for it. A little bit more snow and it would be perfect snowshoeing! The conservation area is one of those little unknown gems that is barely outside the city without needing to drive out to Kananaskis.
And for a first time snowshoeing? We had so much fun! I can't wait to go again. and we managed to find little snowshoes for the smidgens for Christmas so they are sure to be excited to be able to join us.
And with that, I knock another thing off my resolution list and in the nick of time since the deadline is today! I'll be back tomorrow with my last update to the list :)
