It is time to go snowshoeing!
Snowshoes offer a unique perspective on a unique season! Almost truly a Canadian activity, snowshoeing is a magical way to get outside and explore the BIG winter landscape of Northeastern Ontario.
To a new Canadian it might appear strange that we enjoy ambling along over the snow in a manner somewhere between the gait of a duck and a penguin. Then there is the Generation Y and Generation Z, born: 1977-1994 and born: 1995-2012 respectively. And as they have come and will come of age of these generations have and will embrace technology; they are not so much “with” nature and tend to stay within cities and “inside” in general. Snowshoeing may not be on their list, while Netflix is. So for now, we are left with the “Baby Boomers” and “Generation X” the most likely to enjoy snowshoeing.
Fact and Fiction
Cliff Moulder may be one of the last “great outdoorsmen.” He has been on History Channel and other outdoor life television shows. By his own volition he is a “fancier” of snowshoes “for a long time.” He does, however, suffer from nostalgia syndrome—he likes to use vintage equipment.
When asked if he likes the hi-tech snowshoe, here’s what he says. “Of course not but then remember my affliction! I originally viewed the modern snowshoe as a blatant excuse to ignore ten thousand years of evolution but this idea mellowed when I became a snowshoe student.”
He said the new models are user friendly, with no special footwear needed. Low maintenance is another feature—“rodents ignore them” in storage and “anything that can withstand a rental season has to have something going for it.”
He explained the hi-tech snowshoes of today have a “modified swallow tail shape with the tail lopped off so they can fit into the trunk of a car.” Without the tail he calls them “snow draggers” because they drag an enormous amount of snow. In deep snow they create divots and can be a real encumbrance to any one following.” The tail, like the keel on the bottom of a canoe, helps the snowshoe to track better or “straight.” Cliff likens these indentations to elephant tracks. He says, “These new snowshoes are usually too small for any serious back country enthusiast. Elephants are rather ungainly in deep snow – all the more reason for marketers to sell the unsuspecting pachyderm a pair of ski poles so they won’t fall over.” He said, “Most people are using them on packed trails anyway.”