Snowshoe Workout

Got out for a snowshoe workout the other day. Environment Canada says that we have approximately 78cm of snow on the ground now. It felt like it - man it's deep in the woods!

South March Higlands showed signs of snow shoers, but no one had hiked it recently. I parked at the Huntmar side along side of the road, where all the new road improvements took place. Not a lot of room to park, and unfortunately they did not put a parking lot in.

I got onto Ridge, hiked to Gateway and then onto Outback. I didn't make it as far as I thought I would - traveling in the deep snow is slow going. Got as far as the first long bridge over the end of the pond, then turned around.


Coach wants me to use the snowshoes to work on power. My guess is that the snow shoeing is working on explosive power (explosive power!). After a good warm up (about 15-20 minutes of steady walking) I did one minute sprints, followed by a one minute rest - five times. By the end of it I was spent and my legs were screaming at me. The rest of the workout was a steady hike that kept my heart rate elevated into zone two for most of the time. All said and done, I was out for just over two hours. Next workout, I will do another set and add on each time, steadily improving duration and sets.

You could just make out some snow shoe trails from before the last big dump last weekend. The deer were making use of them, helping them get around and find food. Saw a couple out. This little one was feeding while it snowed heavily. They've got bushy coats this time of year.