the Way of the Turtle

5.3 Mile Snowshoe Run in the Pine Bush
Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Parked at the Pine Bush Discovery Center and hit the trails of Karner Barrens East and West. I expected the trails to be pretty well packed from all the skiing, snowshoeing, adn walking that people had probably done since Sunday's snowfall, and I was right... up to a point. The East Barrens were well-travelled and "easy" running for the most part... didn't even need my headlamp on initially. Once I crossed under Rt 155 and hit the West Barrens trails, things were slightly different... though they had seen some traffic, it was comparatively light (a couple of skiers and snowshoers, most likely) and so I was working a lot more to get through the snow (and throwing a lot more up on the backs of my legs, my waist pack, and my lower back!)

Even the packed sections had a bit more give than the "crumbling concrete" I ran on last week, because the snow was a bit on the wet side. All in all it made for a good workout.

Tested a new pair of inexpensive tights I picked up recently... they did a good job at first, but once they got wet my legs started to get cold, particularly along the backs where snow was getting thrown up. So I think I'll relegate those to regular runs rather than snowshoe runs, and keep using the wonderful thermal tights I've purchased from Performance Bicycle and Nashbar for playing in the snow...

JMH