the Way of the Turtle

Season of the SnōShū 2010 - Race #5
Hoot Toot & Whistle 3.3mi Snowshoe Race
Saturday, January 23, 2010

The Hoot Toot & Whistle snowshoe race is a relatively new entree in our snowshoeing buffet. Organized by Bob and Denise Dion (of Dion Snowshoes) assisted by what appears to be a significant portion of the population of Readsboro, VT, it was first introduced last year after several races were indefinitely delayed due to ice storm damage. Bob described the course as a fairly flat run along the Deerfield River, so I suspect most of us showed up expecting a relatively easy run - and were surprised by one of the toughest courses of the season, thanks to loose powdery snow and an abundance of very gentle uphill grades. So the question was - would this be a repeat of last year, or would the HTW treat us a bit more gently this time around?

The drive into Readsboro is gorgeous and I once again I found myself wishing I lived someplace like that... maybe someday. I've driven in from North Adams both times - one of these days I'll have to make the drive over from Bennington instead and check out the scenery through the Green Mountains. Just as last year, the number of folks that were directing traffic and helping get us checked in was impressive; it's great to see so much local support for the race. I changed into my running gear and jogged the 6/10 of a mile from where my car was parked to the race finish at the trailhead where the Catamount Trail meets route 100.

The course is actually pretty cool, since it mostly runs along the Catamount Trail, a 300 mile XC ski/snowshoe trail that runs across VT from the MA border all the way to Canada. This particular section also has a lot of history behind it, since it runs along the bed of the old Hoosac Tunnel & Wilmington Railroad, built in the mid 1880's as a connection to the rail line running through the Hoosac Tunnel south in MA. The HT&W ran to Wilmington until 1937, continued running to Readsboro until 1971, and provided an important link between the network of railroads to the south and various local mills, especially for the paper industry. Apparently the locals referred to the railroad as the Hoot Toot & Whistle, which is where our race gets its name. (For more information about the HT&W I recommend both http://www.htandw.com/ and a short article found on wikipedia. Marc Howes' excellent http://www.hoosactunnel.net/ also has a section on the current state of many sections of the old railbed as well as some nice historical data.)

We started out all clustered near the start/finish banner just off the road, but then Bob had us walk down to the clearing we started in last year and gave us a quick briefing about the course and what to do once we finished. Shortly after that he gave the word and off we went... only to come to a halt a few moments later when the crowd hit the start of the mostly singletrack course. But we managed to get ourselves in line pretty quickly, and within the first half mile or so things the group had stretched out to the point where none of us at the back were on anybody's heels.

About a mile in we started dodging the front runners on their way back, so I was very happy to see the "turnaround loop" break off to the right another quarter mile or so later. At least, I was until I discovered that the trail along the stretch was the toughest so far - the railbed was somewhat packed, but the side loop through the woods was pretty loose and, for me at least, difficult going. I was definitely glad when we rejoined the railbed and started heading back!

The run back was an exercise in keeping up my pace as best I could and not blowing up before the finish... for the most part I think I succeeded, though there were a few spots where I had no choice but to stop and walk. As I ran the final stretch through the evergreens along route 100, I'm certain I heard the chickadees having a good laugh at all the crazy people gasping their way below them. All I can say is I was might pleased to finally round that last curve and cross the finish, and in a decent time (for me) to boot - 46:06, an improvement of over 10 minutes over last year (like I said, I found the course mighty hard last year!)

I have to admit to something of a love-hate relationship with this course. There's a heck of a lot I like about it - the link to the history of the area always appeals to me, and the surroundings are wonderful, from the many views of the rock-strewn Deerfield River to the icicles hanging down the sides of the rock cuts and the sunshine filtering down through the rows of evergreens at the point where we turn around to come back. I also think its wonderful how welcome everyone makes us feel. But at the same time, the course is relentless, with no real opportunities to take a break climbing up or running down a long hill - it's just go, go, go the whole time, much of it on very gentle grades that look like they should be easy to run but are actually deceptively tough, at least for me. Can I really look forward to a course that makes me suffer like HTW does? Well, OK, I can, and I plan to keep coming back as long as I'm able. Thank you, Bob and Denise and all the fine folks of Readsboro who have worked so hard to make it possible for us to have so much fun suffering on a beautiful sunny January morning!

JMH

2010 Event Totals
Run
Bike
Snowshoe 18.5 mi, 4 hr 36 min

states visited: MA, NY,VT