Twin Lakes Snowshoe 4/4

[Cattrapper]

Cool, cause I'll probably be pretty tired too. I don't usually go to bed until about 6 AM, but I'm sure once I see all that snow I'll be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

[cerritulusman]

Count me as a maybe. I am still in recovery from my little hospital experience. However I should be up and going by then. I will confirm on the 2nd.

[anna in boots]

Eric, I think you'll find this a good one to build on. I'm more about feeling the experience of a place and enjoying getting steeped in the sensations. I intend to go slow and take it all in, not missing a thing. I run my open palms over soft fir branches, press my fingers down on spongy moss, and lean in to sniff the bark of evergreens. I love to learn about stuff as I go--Cattrapper, are you a tracker at all?--and I always see something new no matter where or when I travel. The numbers don't impress me when I'm in this mode: miles, minutes, etc. I only want to return home with cheek muscles sore from smiling.

Think you can handle a work out like that? Ten to one says hidden strength will return to you once you're out there again, moving through that pure air and sunlight, in your natural element. The speed doesn't matter, it's the movement that heals. Always works for me.

Anna

[Cattrapper]

--Cattrapper, are you a tracker at all?--

I do ok. Are you asking for track ID purposes, or actually following a track?

I'm really looking forward to this! I bought my shoes a couple years ago and have hardly gotten to use them at all, partly because my soon to be ex-wife didn't take to it. But I'm not bitter!

[anna in boots]

Cat,

Both tracks and tracking. I know a very little about both. A few years back, I met a guy in a local natural area who was so steeped in the world of tracking that he seemed to have forgotten what to do with humans. Seizing the opportunity, I walked with him for an hour and picked his brain. This guy pointed to bark and said, "See? Here's how you can tell a raccoon climbed this one last night and the squirrel climbed it this morning." I was flabbergasted. I wish I could recall everything he told me. I do remember he had an enormous man-crush on Tom Brown, a famous tracker, and apparently learned almost everything he knew from the guy's teachings. http://www.trackerschool.com/about_tracker_school.asp I really like the message of Brown's letter to his prospective students on the main page.

Part of me wants to have the fun of reading the forest like a book and seeing the stories there as clear as words on a page. Another part of me rather enjoys my naivete and the peace it affords as I lose myself on a trail, aware only of my own footfalls and breathing. Somewhere in between is the sweet spot, I think. At the very least, I wanna see a cougar.

Anna

[Cattrapper]

Ok, I'm no where near that good, nor would I want to be! Like you, I rather enjoy the mystery of not knowing it all and just taking in the beauty of it, without trying to analyze everything to death.

I've been fortunate enough to see 3 cougars so far in life. The first one was a little to close for comfort, but by far the coolest. All were very brief encounters.

[anna in boots]

Hmm, does that tie in with your name at all, Cattrapper?

Anna

[Cattrapper]

How do you mean? Actually, the cat part of my name is in reference to bobcats.

[J_W_Speed]

Anna, what if one does not have a K9? Can one still come with on the plod?

[anna in boots]

Heck, yes, J_W! I, myself, am poochless. As a matter of fact, so far we have all humans (2 confirmed, 2 at 50%) and no canines. But I'm hoping to catch some dog sled teams in action at the trail head. Always wanted to see that up close.

anna off-leash