Things have been quiet since Christmas. January has been a little uneventful but I had a snowshoe date with Samara to looked forward to. About a week before we went, I asked to switch to cross country skiing as I noticed my lower back hurts when I walk for a long period of time. We were both so happy for the switch because we had a blast!
We went up to Castle Provincial Park and rented gear from the shop at Castle Mountain Resort. A full day rental was $30 and in minutes we were at the Syncline’s parking lot and ready to hit the trails. Syncline has a great network and we headed off with plans to get to the lake.
The day was mild with just a teeny sprinkling of flurries which made it so magical. Because it was a Tuesday there was no one around and we enjoyed gliding along in the trees just the two of us (and Kit the dog).
I had a good laugh after I was vanquished by a hill. We were slowly making our way up and with 20 extra pounds on me I couldn’t make it. I decided to sit down and take off my skis to walk the remainder of the way up, but as soon as I hit the button the right ski went sliding down all the way to the bottom of the hill. Whoops!
Even better? After a rest at the top, I fell on the way down the other side, punching myself in the face as I went down. Ha ha!
Shortly after, we made our way into a beautiful clearing surrounded gorgeous trees.
There are maps with little “you are here” stickers all over this trail system but this particular one was missing the “you are here” sticker and I misread the map and we didn’t make it to the lake as planned. Whoops!
But we still enjoyed our day going through the woods.
This trail system is so great! I’m already planning to use it in the summer as a beginner hike when my little one becomes a toddling toddler to get him started.
After the fall and punch in my face, I opted not to take any risks and started to take off my skis and walk down. That was actually a really hard pill to swallow. I love taking little risks like that but because I’m pregnant I had to play it safe (eye roll). Next winter I’m going to go down and wipe out on ALL THE HILLS! Ha ha!
At one hill, there was a curve at the bottom and Samara fell as she rounded the corner. I took off my skis to walk down and one slid down the hill and landed in the most hilarious place ever!
I DIED of laughter when I saw this pic!
We spent about four hours going through the network of trails. Laughing at my inability to read maps, taking little hills, and wipe outs. Both Samara and I agreed to start looking for cross country skis of our own so we can make this a regular winter activity.
I found it very low impact, easier on my back and knees than walking so it was great pregnancy activity. I was also very grateful that my snow pants had suspenders to hold them up as they wouldn’t zip over the belly.
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