March 10th-15thish?

Snowshoeing!  Turns out it's tones of fun.  I've been going out almost every day.  The first couple times I was using Mary's pair. They were really old though, and my boots are a lot smaller than Mary's. But the end of the second hike I had torn a hole right through the right shoe….

Shit!

They were a wonderful pair though…I felt pretty bad ruining them.  Pat and I went out to Snowshoe Sales and Repair in Timmins to get a new pair. Lynne, the woman who ran the little business told us she thought the shoes were 60-80 years old, probably made by natives out of deer hide. 

New Pair!  Lynn strings them herself out of heavy duty nylon line. Bought a pair of insulated rubber boots too. They are a little bit bigger than my other ones, plus they will be handy when everything starts to melt and it gets mucky.  They work great and are super light. Pat has a similar pair, going on 9 years with them now so they should last!

A well-worn part of the trail.  Some areas you cant really see at all, but you can tell when you go off the track because you sink a couple feet. 

Marion's Rock, named after Mary's mom.  Mary's dad Archie was a geologist who did a lot of work on the Big Rock outside of Okotoks, and they often referred to it as Archie's rock. (small world!)  Mary  thought Marion should have a rock too!

My favourite part of snowshoeing is the big hill you have to slide down right before you get back to the house.  Fell on my butt a couple times, but I haven't face-planted yet!

Snowfleas! Very interesting. No really, I thought they were.