Outdoor Adventure 5: Intervale Cross Country Skiing in the Single Digits

 It’s been really cold this week, giving me a new set of excuses to avoid the great outdoors.  But my friend Michelle and I decided that, whatever temperature it was this morning, we would meet at the Intervale and “ski until we were just too miserable”.  Happily, the miserable part never happened.  Instead, we were reminded that there’s nothing like moving around to warm a person up.

The parking area was surprisingly full of cars when we arrived at 10 am, though we encountered only a handful of people on the trails.  If you want the world’s most hassle-free cross country experience, this is your place.  It’s free, flat and the trails are marked.  You can ski along the Winooski River in parts, or pass by the farms that you visit at farmer’s markets in warmer months. It was a great morning and a great reminder that getting outside doesn’t have to be complicated; you just have to put on lots of layers and head outdoors.

January Catch-Up: Outings 1, 2, 3 and 4

 So, I have to say, my blog-writing for this project is not off to a spectacular start.  I've been a little disappointed in myself, because my adventures so far, have similarly been rather unambitious.  I think it's a combination of things: COVID means I am doing stuff by myself or generally with one other person; my work schedule has been in the way of my January break a lot; and, when push comes to shove I have to admit that I am not in great shape, which is significantly different than in the year of 52.  Must work on converting all these issues from excuses to challenges.

But the good news is that the challenge has gotten me out the door and to some places I would never have gone otherwise, which was exactly the point, so in that sense it's good.  And since I've done a terrible job writing about what I've done so far, I'm going to consolidate it all in one post right here.  So here goes:

1. Back to back hikes for the New Year.  On December 31 my friend Amanda and I finished out all the "Terribles" of 2020 with a micro-spikes-are-non-negotiable hike up to Butler Lodge on Mount Mansfield. There was a fairly impressive (if you're not trying to hike it) length of steep ice in the top one-third, but it was also beautiful and a great way to ring out the old. 

Then on January 1, 2021, Jon and I did a second hike, this time on a trail I've never visited, to Duxbury Window.  This is a small section of Vermont's famed Long Trail, and hiking it felt like a lovely way to welcome a new year and, hopefully, many great changes in store.

2, Cross Country Skiing at Rikert Nordic Center.  A big goal of this year is for me to try out new places I haven't been, and this one fit the bill.  Rikert Nordic Center sits on the Middlebury College's Breadloaf Campus in Ripton, Vermont, an area I have explored very little.  So, if was great to ski on it in the first week of the New Year.  The afternoon reminded me that I am not a great cross country skier, in part, because I hate going downhill and need to get over that.  Maybe this winter will be the time.

3. Afternoon Break Ski at the Burlington Country Club.  So, another hope for this year's round of outdoor challenges is to try to also do things that are easily folded into a workday (that is, to get in the habit of getting outside before, after or even during days I have to work).  Luckily, my friend Kate wanted to help me out with that goal and suggested trying for some lunchtime skiing at the Burlington Country Club Golf Course, which is open for winter recreation and literally out her back door (and has the added bonus of being free).  It was a great way to catch up, get some exercise and be outside.  We agreed we need to do it more often.

4. Visit the Donahue Sea Cave.  This one has been on my bucket list for forever.  I'd heard about the cave, and that you can pretty much only visit it in the winter when the water that surrounds it is frozen, so today was the day I finally did.  I'd highly recommend this one to anyone for a fun little winter pick me up.  The trail is across the road (North Avenue) from the Burlington High School and it's probably less than a quarter mile to the Cave.  There were people skating as well, and though I brought my recreational skates, I decided to save the skating for another day (skating on as many outdoor ice surfaces as possible this winter is another aspiration) because it was so cold I didn't want to have take my hands out of my gloves to lace up my skates.  So, that part another time. 

 

So, not off to a splashy start, but at the same time, the plan is doing what it should - getting me outdoors, trying some new (and old) places with friends and solo, and hopefully I'll only pick up steam as I go,  Onward and upward in 2021.