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Winter Hiking

Photo: Jeb Wallace Brodeur who knows plenty about winter hiking!

Photo: Jeb Wallace Brodeur who knows plenty about winter hiking!

Temperatures are dropping, the white stuff is in the forecast and restlessness tugs against the temptation to grab a good book and settle in by the fire. With a few exceptions, most bikes, boats and summer gear are packed away for next year.

Then the email rolls into my inbox. “Hey, who wants to do some winter hiking?” What on earth does that mean?

It appears that there are two kinds of winter hiking. One involves multi-day excursions that are borderline tests of survival skills while the other is simply doing what you do in the summer but adapting to winter terrain and conditions. Let’s look at the latter.

To get outdoors to hike in the winter requires the same steps as doing so at any other time during the years, just more of them.

Establish a destination. Roaming randomly is not a good plan, especially when weather conditions are sometimes dangerously variable. Hike with others and be sure that friends or family members know that you are headed out, where and for how long.

Gear is important. Hiking poles are especially helpful in the winter. Layers of warm and warmer clothing, a shell that is wind and rain resistant, gloves, hat, good socks and footwear, and later a buff and maybe some handwarmers.

You will want to regulate your body temperature by shedding or adding layers as you go. While you’re at it, stuff a few dry items into your pack such as extra socks and gloves.

Also in that pack be sure to have a healthy supply of fuel. The usual fluids and snacks are good, but extras as well as a thermos or two of something hot are even better. Don’t forget that water in the hose of a hydration pack can freeze; so can solid foods. Because you will be gradually extending your winter hiking expeditions, you will learn what works and what doesn’t as you lengthen distance and increase hours on the trail.

HIKING FITNESS

Perhaps the best plan is to consider winter hiking as a continuum. Just as one season segues into another gradually (usually), adapting to the challenges of the outdoors should happen over time. Shocking the system with too much, too soon is endangering to health and safety as well as a sure-fire way to blight budding enthusiasm.

Hiking is an excellent way to increase and/or maintain fitness. Repetitive walking and climbing movements build muscular strength, while practice on diverse surfaces improves balance and coordination. The heart, lungs and skin adapt to the cold as a sense of well-being gains traction.

When you’re not on the road or the trail, spend some time training core strength and stability to help you deal with the additional weight of a pack as well as unexpected missteps and off-balance maneuvers along the way.

Flexibility exercises help to maintain joint integrity while preventing inappropriate muscle tightness that could lead to injury. Lower body strength needs are obvious, but it’s not all about the quadriceps. Be sure to balance all muscle groups by addressing the lower leg as well as the upper, back and front, inside and outside. And, of course, upper body strength is important for pushing and pulling, reaching, clasping and utilizing poles effectively.

Search engine results for “hiking fitness” are plentiful. A better approach might be to visit a fitness professional to design a program appropriate to you and your individual needs and goals. Beware of any training plan that is promoted as one-size-fits-all.

Remember, a hike is not a one-time deal. Begin with shorter, easier routes and gradually intensify the effort by finding longer and more difficult trails.

A hike is a hike. A simple winter’s walk on a class 4 road could well be the hike for you. More likely, however, trails will beckon and you will be drawn to greater adventures. As you build endurance and capability, and as hiking regularly becomes habitual for you and your companions, you will want to enlarge the boundaries of your initial outings.

WINTER WHITE

Snow is beautiful. It is also wet, cold, slippery and often unexpected. It can hide pitfalls or make them more navigable. Snow can cause or cushion falls, make you work harder going up or easier sliding down. It can blanket you in insulation or chill you to the bone. It can surprise you with dehydration and fiercely bounce the sun’s rays back to your eyes and skin. Bottom line – prepare and prevent snow hazards.

Watch the weather forecast. Wear appropriate boots, gaiters, and waterproof outerwear. Carry snowshoes for deeper amounts or shoe grips such as stabilicers or yaktrax for slick. Hydrate purposefully and apply sunscreen liberally.

Maneuvering through snow demands additional energy and effort. Beware to assess your ability realistically and heed signs of onset of fatigue. It is always better to turn around early than to get stuck far from your base, miserable and potentially at risk.

Even on shorter hikes of only a few hours, it is wise to be prepared packing with you a flashlight, first aid kit, waterproof matches and an emergency blanket. If your cell phone works, great. Don’t rely on it.

Fortunately there are ample resources for hiking in Vermont. For example, go to http://www.greenmountainclub.org/ to find hiking advice and destinations. Note that on the Long Trail, trail blazes are white and might be hidden beneath deep snow or difficult to see.

Winter is not a good time to get lost. Heed advice to carry a map (many are available at GMC) and a compass, and be sure you know how to read them.

By the way, when you visit the Green Mountain Club online, by phone or in person, be sure to learn more about what they do and what they offer that might appeal to you. There are group hikes appropriate for all levels, workshops, lectures and events. Granted, much of what you may learn is common sense, but even the brightest among us needs to have rational information organized and presented as functional and accessible.

MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL FITNESS

Vermont offers unlimited opportunities to explore the outdoors all year. Because of changing seasons, there’s always something new to see, even along the same path. Summer’s lush, green foliage gives way to an often drab stick season. While it is prudent to stay off trails during mud seasons, and be careful in the woods during hunting seasons, dirt roads and recreational paths offer unrestricted venues to keep the legs moving.

A hiker is often surprised to find distant views through bare branches. A narrow trail opens to expansive vistas that carry thoughts along with it. Changing light and shadows, snow cover, frozen brooks, sunrise, dusk, all take on new meaning.

Research proves that physical activity is a healthy antidote and potential cure for sadness, discouragement and even clinical depression. To work it’s magic, exercise must be performed regularly. Add to regular practice stellar scenery and good friends and you have a solid reason to get out and hike. Even in the winter. Especially in the winter.

To Vermont From Maine; the end of a month on the coast

It is important to recognize one chapter as it closes and a new one begins, to carry forward that which is recent past. Wellbeing springs from the small things, duly experienced, identified and remembered.

Today I am uncharacteristically undisciplined. At least that is the word some would use; I prefer to use words like structure, organization, commitment, etc. when I speak of my work and practice, my habits and lifestyle. In any event, it’s what I am, or am not, today. P1000150 It is the day before I drive back to Vermont from my month’s relocation (another word I use instead of vacation which somehow signifies that I am still industrious, still doing something useful and not lounging around ineffectually – I guess).

Will I never learn? I counsel clients and write about the value of rest, recovery, regeneration. In my faith I strive to be silent, even if only for a few minutes. I read favorite writers who encourage me to do so – writers like Kathleen Norris and my newfound favorite Anna Quindlen. Yet I resist. At the hint of success, I become apologetic. But today I am giving myself over to mixed emotions that are wheeling around inside me like bumper cars in the boardwalk arcades of my childhood.

My to-do list is crowded: write my pieces for next week’s “Active Vermont” page, post a blog, do loads of laundry (but be careful of the whites that will turn orange with the rust in the water), pack a month’s worth of living on the rocky shores of an ocean Sound, clean and clean the cottage so there are no remaining footprints (or rather white hairs) from my two little old Jack Russells who have already indicated that they are as loathe to leave as I am, P1000102pick up trinkets for the kids and Christmas presents for friends, fill the gas tank, say goodbye to new friends, write thank you notes to old ones, take one last walk along the water and one final search for shells and seaglass.

I was meant to do a tempo training ride today. Not happenin’. It’s cool, overcast, windy and, most of all, I lack the motivation to do so. So my final ride for this summer as well as my final paddle are over. Missed already. I love to ride here. Sometimes I am fortunate enough to share these roads and surprisingly challenging hills with Teague and Tara or with my summer riding companions of Merrymeeting Wheelers out of Brunswick. Sometimes I ride alone but those rides, too, are satisfying and joyous. The roads here in mid-coast Maine are constantly being repaired and, though there is often no shoulder, it does not matter as the surface is good and drivers SLOW DOWN and observe the Maine 3’ safe passing LAW. The coincidence of good paving and considerate drivers is a blessing for which I am daily thankful.

Paddling is pure pleasure. We try to start in the morning before the wind picks up and often find ourselves heading out with the tide. Put-ins are plentiful if you look for them, and any starting point marks the beginning exploration of shoreline, cove, islands, rocky coasts, and a few beaches. Working dories and lobster boats, pricey pleasure and more pricey sailboats, a daily cruise boat from Portland and P1000159an authentic schooner (chartered) create my neighborhood as I remind myself with each stroke to engage my core, sit up and try to look like I know what I’m doing. I can’t resist pausing when I see a suspicious head in front of me that turns out to be a seal or to whip out my ever-present, waterproof camera to take a shot of a quaint cottage, a lobster buoy that catches the light,P1000158 an osprey or once, and eagle. Today, however, I can only think about these things.

After saying goodbye to my husband who drove away this morning, I took the girls for a ride, or so I told myself. My car ended up parked in front of a store in downtown Brunswick and later at the tip of Bailey’s Island. Back at the cottage I unloaded my bags of goodies and realized that I wanted yet another cup of coffee and eat bagels loaded with peanut butter. (OK, I did stop at one organic, multigrain bagel topped with freshly ground almond butter from a wonderful natural foods market charmingly named Morning Glory.) I sat down to write and somehow ended up talking with my daughter and arranging shells and bits of sea glass that I have carefully collected over the past four weeks (paltry; how DO people find this stuff by the bag full?) and filling an antique replica glass jar to bring a bit of the coast home to my studio.

I think of my Maine friends: Sue, my favorite realtor anywhere; the owner of my cottage with whom I connect on important levels; the neighbor across from me who has the mind-bending job of working with the memory impaired and elders facing an already forgotten end; Jenn who tirelessly organizes and befriends each of us as cyclists and Pam. I just met Pam and she amazes me. There is no doubt that our paths were meant to cross. Pam exudes energy, generosity, kindness; a woman whose beliefs and trust have seen her through some tough times; a woman who does not shy away from very hard work or the needs of those around her, and, those around her happen to be her family. What a privilege it is for me to live briefly on the edges of an entire community that is comprised of various members residing somewhere on the proverbial family tree; a community that lives and works together and supports each other. (You might want to check her website: http://www.pamsmainewreaths.com. )

So I’ve given it up for today. The washer is going and my things are finding their way into piles to stuff into duffels and load up for an early departure tomorrow morning – but NOT until after I watch the dawn break over the Sound and have my morning coffee on the deck as the sun rises, watching the ducks dive for foodDSCN0008 and hearing the occasional slap of a fish who enters the water leaving expanding ripples on the surface. In a few hours I will walk the dogs along the shore of Potts Point as it juts into the ocean. I will go at low tide so they can walk on sand and not shoals. I’ll time it so that I can see the sunset and hope it will be a last glimpse of sun 8-11-13 blazing orb quickly descending below the tree line on the opposite shore. I was here when the moon was spectacularly full. Now the last phase of it will appear late.

These are moments I will remember. I still rock slightly with the rhythm of my boat in the water. I hear the whirligig spin and watch the sailor in his yellow slicker row like mad to keep up. A distant buoy clangs, a hummingbird hurries past, a noisy squirrel sits in a tree next to the deck and taunts Lucy and Lola, the incoming tide splashes against the rocks and a snake that I do my best to avoid camps out on the steps to the dock when the sun is warming them. I did not read as much as I had planned, did not complete online courses that I hoped to finish, did not write or train more than absolutely necessary and did not really sleep late as I never wanted to miss fishermen in lobster boats DSCN0003motoring out to set traps. I did spend every possible minute outdoors, riding, paddling, walking, hiking and giving myself over to my family and the uncomplicated experience of being here. And why cannot I do that in Vermont? Vermont is the perfect bookend to Maine. Mountains of strength and spectacular beauty join an ocean of possibilities accompanied by reassurance that there is balance in the natural rhythms and continuous movement. Life between these two is sustained by heightened awareness, dreams to be dreamed and the promise of “thus far and no farther.” I CAN take it all home with me; take it home to be savored and shared; home to be lived and practiced; home to be loved; the essence of well-being.

just do it

Recently I wrote a short piece for ACTIVE VERMONT, my page in the Rutland Herald/Times Argus Sunday newspaper, that sparked interest and generated comments from a number of readers.  Clearly we all suffer from the same reticence to perform certain deeds,complete particular training plans or take the steps needed to meet goals. Several have told me that they connected with this concept, they aspire to the notion that sometimes we need to “pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps,” (wherever did that saying come from? surely it’s obsolete but we get the point), and, well, just do it.

July is a month packed with notable sports that lure us to the home screen. Wimbledon Tennis (June 23-July 6);  FIFA World Cup Soccer (June 12-August 13); Tour de France (July 5-27); MLB All-Star Game (July 15); British Open (July 17-20): and surely more draw us like magnets to a cooler indoor setting and a comfy chair. That’s fine. There’s room in our days to spectate as well as participate. There’s a place for R&R, team spirit, camaraderie, and some level of motivation that sneaks in the back door when playing the observer position.

But, don’t forget, there are always two sides:  left and right, forward and back, offense and defense, (we’ll leave right and wrong off this field), and, of course, spectator and participant. Sometimes to assume the latter role one needs a push, to “just do it.”  Read on.

 Just do it. I say it often. I say it to my clients when I ask them to do a particular training exercise and they look at me with that are-you-nuts look. I say it to myself when I am dragging and need to walk into a room and appear energetic and encouraging to a group of individuals who are unsure about their fitness commitment. I say it when I sit down at my computer after a long day and know that I must say something significant in response to emails, post a blog or write my Sunday Active Vermont page. Sometimes I say it before my treasured training rides or even when the alarm goes off.

It works. JUST DO IT (stylized in all caps), coined by Nike in 1988 by Dan Wieden of Wieden and Kennedy ad agency, has become the go-to motivator for a large cross section of the world’s population. Last summer the slogan celebrated its 25th anniversary as one of the most recognized and often uttered phrases in all time. Remember, this was before the media and digital explosion erupted in texts and tweets, before “going viral” was a model.

JUST DO IT is more than a means to sell running shoes and appeals to far more than runners. The phrase is simple and invites definition. It is individual, offering a very personal connection.

In fact, the story of the inception of the phrase demonstrates the simplicity of the time as well. It seems that in an early ad, 80-year old Walt Stack jogged across Golden Gate Bridge. While doing so he shared tales of his daily 17mile run and quipped that in the winter he kept his teeth from chattering by leaving them in his locker.

Smith Rock is a well-know climbing mecca in Oregon that attracts climbers of many levels and abilities. In 1992 a French climber, Jean-Babtiste Tribout (known as J.B., born in 1961) scaled a route that had not previously been climbed. He named the ascent “Just do it.” Today that route is rated as a 5.14. Its overhanging wall is known as the most difficult climbing in America.

Is there a connection between Smith Rock and Nike? Presumably it is merely coincidental, but the spirit is the same.

Perhaps that is the magic of JUST DO IT. It is a sentiment that works for each of us; it easily rolls off the tongue. Basic or erudite, the concept can be found in any collection of memorable quotes. For example: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” (H.Thurman, African-American writer).

Or: “Do it no matter what. If you believe in it, it is something very honorable. If somebody around you or your family does not understand it, then that’s their problem. But if you do have a passion, an honest passion, just do it.” (Mario Andretti, and we all know who he is.)

Often there is no right or wrong, no hard and fast rule, no all or nothing. Often there is “just do it.”

didn't get lost on this century

didn’t get lost on this century

Site Launch

barn

Barn

February 14, 2014. It’s snowing. This morning I left home to teach the early a.m. Spinning® class and was psyched to make “first tracks” into Montpelier. The trip was magical-including the more-than-ever hearts scattered all around town by the mysterious (and probably soaked) Valentine Bandit(s). As I write this I am excited to know that I will probably launch my new website on the 15th. Getting up and running has been a process, but working with the best web developer a mom could ask for, and welcoming encouragement and suggestions from family and friends, has been a good process. We are simply going to go ahead and put it out there. Throughout this journey I have learned a little about WordPress and a lot about what I want this site to be. I want it to be about good writing and good artwork. I want it to be a meeting place for my friends and a welcoming space for those who share similar interests, concerns, goals, struggles and accomplishments. I want to welcome all guests in hopes that they will become a part of this amazing community in which we live, work and share so much. I want to play some small part in making a fit, healthy, active lifestyle a habit, a choice, for all of us. I want this to be an organic conversation. I hope you will check out my previous post – written optimistically at the beginning of 2014. Log on now and then to see what’s happening. There are good things on the horizon and change will be a constant for this venture. As it should be.