I found some antique rawhide snowshoes made in Canada, at an antique store in town. Leather straps, in great condition. I paid less than I did for my fancy new ones, the straps of which rotted and disintigrated in about five years. These are much more effective than the new ones (when the straps still worked.)
This is a county snowmobile trail. The mostly young guys snowmobiling seem to respect my snowshoeing.
Here I break some trail on private property. I haven’t asked but I used to spend a lot of time here when I was a kid, so in a sense I feel like I belong. No one ever spends any time around here outside of deer hunting season. I will reach out to them after the holiday.
There is a deer stand, upper right.
The snowmobile trail veers to the right. I broke trail straight up the hill, but then a snowmobiler followed my trail. The landowner might not appreciate that, if snowmobilers follow all the trails I make.
Me and my dog can get under, but not snowmobiles.
Another deer stand.
The trail runs along the county dump.
Sometimes one trips over oneself…
Conditions are hard on a dogs paws. More of the dump in the background.
This is a little square of state land, one species of an invasive weed. The snowmobile trail runs along that treeline. That is a large wetland behind the trees. I like breaking trail as it is a better workout. This was all before the turn in the weather, though one day it was about -8F. Lately it has been closer to -15F, windchills around -35F. I am content to stay in. Even the dog doesn’t care to go out for very long.
Have a great Christmas/Hanukkah. Blessings, and I will be back before New Year with a kind of 2022 compendium.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, etc.! Your photos are wonderful! It doesn't get nearly as cold here (usually only freezes at night) and we don't get much snow. We're being cheated by 'global warming.' Flagstaff used to get very quiet when it snowed there and the sky turned pink at night when it snowed. I hated driving in it but loved walking to and from work when it snowed too much to take my truck.
Thank you for the nice break from New Mexico, rampant cheating, and politics!
Actually the last couple years have upended my whole life - its been quite a journey but I am still much better off than many. Appreciate substacks writers like yours for helping me keep my sanity and remind me not everyone goes along to get along. Take Care :)