Email
PrintSnow Trek
Exploring the Final Frontier in Snowshoes!
I have cross country skis, and I enjoy a good winter hike in warm boots, but once in awhile Ol’ Man Winter dumps lots of snow on our area. When that happens, I strap on a pair of snowshoes and head... anywhere!
At first I feel a bit clumsy, but by the end of a snowshoe walk I feel that terrific sort of tired when you’ve had fresh air, a modest workout and a few tumbles in the snow.
Snowshoes are built for traversing the deep stuff. They spread your weight over a greater surface area so you don’t sink. An ancient mode of transportation, anthropologists estimate they were in use around 4000 B.C.
Pre-historic American Indians were the innovators of snowshoe design, creating intricate lacings with branches and twined bark or sinew. French explorers adapted the Indian snowshoe quickly. Native Americans provided snowshoes, in addition to pelts, in trading activities with these Europeans. Snowshoes were useful for hunting and trapping food in winter. Cross country skis, which require poles, were less practical when toting a gun.
In the 1800s, snowshoe clubs in New England sponsored recreational “community hikes.” Families would tromp several miles through the woods and converge on a farmhouse to enjoy a hot meal.
Women wore full length wool skirts or heavy bloomers. A rugged blanket coat, called a capote, was adopted from Canadian snowshoe clubs to the north. A knit woolen hat called a “toque” topped off the gear, and club affiliation was represented by color. Ladies added a bit of panache by decorating their snowshoes with tufts of wool yarn. Wool was the most popular clothing for snowshoeing then. Today it is still revered as a warm, tough natural fiber, although modern fleeces and technical fabrics are lighter weight.
Today’s gear
Whether you are snowshoeing or simply hiking, for warm feet, you need roomy, flexible boots. You should be able to wear a pair of thin liner socks topped with a wool blend pair (skip the cotton), and still be able to wiggle your toes and bend your foot. If your feet get cold, your boots are too small.
During an afternoon hike you will build up body heat. Be sure you can shed layers. Your clothes should be layered, with a wicking fabric closest to your skin. Cotton is a poor choice; try silk, synthetic, or a lightweight wool blend. Don’t forget a hat and gloves.
Wood or aluminum?
I watched my traditional wood snowshoes being made at the Iverson workshop in Shingleton, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula. I opted for classical gut for the webbing, which a Native woman laced in ten minutes flat. Contemporary, lightweight snowshoes are a mix of aluminum, neoprene, composites and plastic.
Most outdoor stores sell a variety of sizes, shapes and colors with plenty of choices for kids, too. Poles are optional and helpful on hills and long treks. Wide or long snowshoes are best for very deep snow. (A six-foot man will need a longer shoe than a five-foot teen.) Narrow shoes are easier to walk in and usually suffice for our modest snowpack.
If you are considering purchasing snowshoes, assess the bindings. Some are complex buckle affairs. Others require lacing. Will your kids be able to put them on themselves, or will you have to help them? But be sure they are adjustable so your kids can use them for a few years.
Try before you buy
See the list below for places that rent snowshoes.
Find the snow
Wait for the deep stuff and head to a nearby park or nature center. You’ll be amazed at the animal tracks, bird nests and wildlife you’ll see. Keep in mind that parks that groom their trails for cross country skiing don’t allow snowshoes on those trails.
Walking in snowshoes is only slightly more difficult than walking in boots. It’s an adaptable activity, perfect for a quiet bird watching in a crusty, frozen marsh or for a rollicking relay race across an open field.
Family Activity
Build your own
- Sarett Nature Center in Benton Center, MI and St. Patrick’s County Park in South Bend, IN offer a series of workshops to build your own snowshoes. Their workshops are booked for this winter, so check next fall.
Rent ‘em
- Sarett Nature Center, Benton Center, MI, Tues-Sun, $3/pr 269.927.4832
- Ferrettie-Baugo Creek County Park, Osceola, IN, weekends $3/pr 574.674.9765
