The Snowmobile Trip With No Snow

Day 1

I took a 3 day weekend to get out and enjoy some snowmobiling in Northern Wisconsin. The only problem? No snow. We've had an amazingly mild winter in Wisconsin, leaving even the most norther spots bare.

Needless to say we were pretty depressed on the 4 hour drive as we traveled further and further north with no snow in sight. We also had a sledding birthday party planned for our 2 year old son. It's pretty hard to have a sledding party with no snow.

We made it up safely and got settled in. We woke up the next morning to see 3 inches of fresh snow waiting for us. We let Nana take over diaper duty and got ready to hit the trails.

We got the snowmobiles fired up and headed out on the in-laws 120 acres to head to the country trails. We zigged and zagged and pulled a few U-turns. We were completely lost. There are a few old logging roads and it can get confusing on which one leads to the trails. After an hour of getting lost we decided we were late for breakfast and finally had to give up.

Day 2

After consulting her Dad, my wife found the right path (a down tree was throwing her off). It was nice to get out onto the trails and open up the throttle a bit.

My wife wisely marked where we turn of the trial with some ribbon so we knew we wouldn't get lost on the way back.

While she tied the ribbon I decided to get a pic of my little buddy hanging out on my sleeve. After a great breakfast at our favorite diner we headed back.

I snapped a couple more pictures as my wife untied the ribbon we used to mark the trail. I never imagined, growing up in the city, that I would be having so much fun in 10 degree weather. I am really starting to love these trips we take. I even put my iPod on to listen to some music while I'm riding.

We made it back safe and sound. We had Nana get our son dressed and he road around the front yard with us on the snow mobile. My wife even hooked up his sled to the back of the snowmobile and took him for a couple cautious laps around the house. He was in heaven and so were we.

My First Sub Zero Degree Run

After being sick off an on for a month, I am finally feeling healthy and hitting the road again.

Tonight I ventured out for my first subzero run. The bank sign on my drive home read -3 degrees. I've run in the cold and snow before but never this bitterly cold. Part of me was really excited to try out my Smartwool samples that were sent to me as part of the Smartwool Ambassador program. I was pretty much covered from head to toe in Smartwool like a kid playing with his new toys the day after Christmas. I set out for the run and it was awesome.

It was so quiet out. Since this was the first sub zero temps of the year, everyone was staying in (except yours truly). The only noise I could hear was my shoes crunching over the snow covered road. I don't know about you but my entire body gets the shivers when I hear the sound of snow crunching. I am typing this as fast as possible because just thinking about it is making me shiver. It's like nails on a chalk board to me.

I finally decided to put in my headphones to drowned out the crunching snow sound. I try to maneuver them and they won't bend. The rubber had tightened up and they were as stiff as can be in the freezing temperatures. I finally shove them in and get moving. As I work my way down the road I can start to feel ice forming on my eyelashes. Between my hat and my face mask, my eyes are the only thing exposed to the elements. I decided to leave the ice crystals so that I can see what it looks like when I get back.

The most impressive thing during my run is that I don't fall once. Training for a marathon this past year was disastrous when it came to catching my foot on uneven sidewalks, or wooden planks sticking up on pedestrian bridges, or slipping on the wet wood at railroad crossings. The snow and ice were not issues. Believe it or not I had to stop and strip off a layer because I was getting too hot at one point.

Toward the end of my run I can feel my self finishing a bit stronger in anticipation of looking in the mirror at the ice crystals that have formed on my face. When I got inside I looked like I had just climbed a mountain. It made the run that much more rewarding.