It is finally winter in Maine. We have been through most of our winter months without any snow, and now, finally, we have a good packing of it on the ground. Now, it is finally time to dig out our snowshoes!!!
Mia and I attempted show shoeing last winter. We have a love of hiking, and I wanted to continue the trend into the winter months. We found some aluminum framed show shoes at a local Ocean State Job Lots, $35.00 for her pair, and $45.00 for mine! How much more affordable can trying this wonderful way to jaunt through the woods be?!
Her first time in snowshoes proved to be quite the scene. Remember, she has Autism, and is very set into her ways. Foot wear has always been one of those things that she gets picky about. Snowshoes proved to be no different!
Once I finally had them strapped onto her boots, she scuffed her feet about for a bit, and then looked up at me with an expression, as if to say "what the heck are these momma, and am I really expected to walk in them?!" It was a learning curve, and she really didn't adjust to walking in them all that well, but with practice, she will get it!
I am curious to see how she does this year though. Now that we have a decent white blanket on the ground, we are going to check out some of the local snowshoeing trails. I think the biggest issue this year won't be the fact of wearing the snowshoes, but rather the fact that she has to wear a hat, and the all time dreaded gloves. Where she has Autism, she is very tactile, and hates the feeling of being 'restricted'. Gloves give her that feeling, as she likes to feel everything that she can with her bare hands. This weekend, I think momma is going to come up with a better solution for this problem!
Some of the ones in our immediate area are the Roberts Farm Preserve Trail, the Viking Trail, behind the high school, and the Cornwall Preserve Trail. All provide relatively flat walking areas, perfect for learning to snowshoe and cross country ski!
I'll be back later with our update on our snowshoeing adventure, and what we did to remedy her glove situation! :)
This sounds like fun! And it's about time Maine has snow!
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