So, after we got back from our snowshoe excursion in the million feet of snow, I was cursing a blue streak. Like, I was seriously coming up with new swear words to describe my hatred for my snowshoe. You see, because the snow was so deep, my snowshoe issue was exacerbated and it drove me crazy for the entire trek back to the hut. I even hiked directly up the sledding luge because it was less distance than going around the hut! I spoke with Uncle Craig and we agreed to do some emergency maintenance on the shoe when we got back to the hut.
Now, I have some sad news for you. When we got back to the hut, an all-out, full scale, smash-snow-into- each other’s-faces fight started…and Lindsy caught it all on film. I may have actually mimicked a “snow pony” so you know it’s good! The only problem is that my laptop is currently dead because the cord ripped (sigh) so I’m typing from an old school computer that isn’t working for me.(I can’t even get the volume to work!) So, y’all are gonna have to wait for that video until another day! But trust me… it’s funny!
Anyway, after our snow fight, we were all pretty chilly, so we headed indoors and spent the rest of the night eating, playing more spades, and at one point, naked sledding. This example of stupidity was most definitely demonstrated by the guys in the group. None of the women were dumb enough to shred their tender little skin pieces on frozen snow in sub-freezing temps. Alas, I don’t have any pics of this either because A) it was too dark outside to see and B) I don’t run a pornographic website. Sorry!
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| The bonfire after sunset |
The next morning broke through with a bluebird sky and the sun shining! Uncle Craig and I decided to use pliers to cramp down the strap on my snowshoes and hope for the best. He was also carrying some duct tape and told me he would tape me into my snowshoe if our first method of reconstruction didn’t work.
We headed back down the mountain, enjoying the sunshine while sweating our faces off. You see, the 18″ of snow had completely filled the trail from when we had come up the mountain two days before. Not only did we have to search for the blue diamond tree markers, spread about 1/4 mile apart, but we also had to break the entire trail in knee-deep snow. For those of you who don’t do a lot of snowshoeing, this is hard work! At first, all the guys manned up and took the lead, thinking they could muscle their way through, but even they had to bow out and let every take a turn.
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| The group before we left the hut |
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| Breaking trail on a beautiful day! |
Eric, however, is apparently bionic and ended up breaking trail for at least half of the hike down. Somehow, I ended up behind him in the #2 position, so I essentially had to break the trail also. Eric is like 6’3″, so his footsteps were like twice as big as mine. I decided to tough it out and break the trail for all of the women!
I am woman, hear me roar!
About half way down, I realized my snowshoe was starting to slip again. Grrrrrr! I turned around and realized Uncle Craig was nowhere near me; I actually couldn’t see him so I had no idea how far back he was. I didn’t want to sit down to wait for him, so I just decided to damn near run down the mountain as quick as I could handle. I figured that I would get as far as I could on the snowshoe, and then just suck it up and hike without them.
This plan worked until we were approximately 2 miles from the car. The snowshoe fell off, I got pissed and I took them both off, strapping them to my pack. I decided to post-hole the last two miles. It’s not like I wasn’t getting enough of a workout, right?!
Luckily, the trail had become fairly packed down for awhile, so Lindsy walked behind me and laughed while I slipped all over the place. However, we hit a field crossing that was close to the car, and I just sank! I was literally sinking to mid-thigh with every. single. step.
(In case you’re curious, I have a whole new dictionary of swear words. You know, just in case you need them.)
I fought my way across the field, bitching the entire time. My original plan (5 miles back) had been to stay in front of Lindsy for the entire trek. She is Angel’s little sister and therefore, like my second little sister. Plus, she is literally only 4’10” and I worried that she would drown if she sunk into the snow! However, this plan went out the window in this cursed field. I asked Linds to go in front of me in hopes that her 90lb body would pack the snow down a bit for me.
Yeah, that didn’t work. I weigh a bit more than 90lbs! (Remember, because I am plus sized?!)
Long story short, I finally made it back to the car with my boots filled with snow and a new appreciation for working snowshoes. But hey–we had made it back!!!
In the end, hut trip 2k12 was just as awesome as every other year! As a final verdict: yes, the Benedict Huts are not easy to get to and I would choose a different hut if you are a beginner. However, if you’re in relatively good shape with a tough mental constitution, you should be fine!
Or, you can just bring me on your trip so I can break another snowshoe!!
On another, completely random note, I wanted to show you this HIIT workout that I did this morning (for some reason) right after I woke up. I don’t know what the heck happened but I was feeling inspired at 6:30! I am now feeling a bit bad for my neighbors that live in the apartment below me….but oh well. It was time to wake up!!
Note to self: don’t drink so much coffee!
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