Winter Gear for your Feet, or How to Walk in the Snow

Just because there is snow on the ground, not much, say only a foot or three, why stop enjoying the walk through the woods? We enjoy visiting some of our favorite spots in the winter, and we have a variety of foot-wear we use, each with it's own benefits. Walking down the ice packed road, we use rubber and metal grips on our shoes--Bill uses these when he runs. They are easy to use and work pretty well.

To go down a packed trail, nothing beats the speed and ease of cross-country ski's. Lightweight, and fun to zip down the trail, this is always a good choice. Getting off the trail, though, it is much slower on skis. Once into the woods, they sink into the umpacked snow and it is difficult trying to weave through the trees.

So, break out the snow-shoes! These are great, really good for exploring the dense woods, and more hilly terrain. You can get into the tight areas, and actually do a little work while remaining stable and upright! We also have a high-tech set of snowshoes, but they are still much more work than skis.

So, this is our find! Like a cross between skis and snow-shoes, these small wide skis have a no-wax surface with fiber grips which help with the hill climbing, but then you can ski down! Being short and wide, they fit between the trees, but still traverse the deep unpacked snow. They also use standard boots, and can be quickly adjusted so they can be used by friends who want to try them. More work than cross-country trails, but much faster than snow-shoes. Just checking, L.L. Bean no longer stocks these, I believe they were made for them by Karu. Hope you can find some too!

For us, these are our footwear of choice! Makes me feel kind of like Goldilocks--these are Just Right!