Snowshoes-on-a STICK

State Fairs throughout the U.S.A. feature food of all sorts served not on plates but rather on sticks. From the original Dip Dog to now even Twinkies and the ever popular cheese curds . . . ain’t it great to be modern?

At the various Midwestern State Fairs the fun is extended by deep frying the goodies on the stick. Not only can you can gain great size from munching these crispy yummies off a stick, you can plug up the old heart pump at the same time.

Snowshoe athletes showing up on a Saturday morning for a hardy practice session at the Richard T Anderson Conservatory in the southwest suburb, Eden Prairie, of the Twin Cities, found sticks of a different kind. Adam Harmer, active on snow and ultra trails, continued his devilish development of original park paths to maximize the vertical gain in this piece of forest rising out of the Minnesota River Valley. Snowshoeing began as early as 4:15 a.m.; hardy bunch, these Midwesterners.

Instead of the comfortable park trails, Adam led this group of eight through a workout national enthusiast, Donald Clark, an expert at snow trails, would call ‘uninhibited snowshoeing’. Donny says, “Just take off and follow deer trails and natural terrain to break trail and find your own way.” The Garmin-measured four and a quarter mile course felt more like the S.S. Minnow and its fabled three hour tour . . . something that would never end.

Melancholy when it does.

One of the fun aspects of a group run on snow is the variety of equipment that shows up and observing how it performs. For manufacturers and their business development people these sessions offer real guerilla marketing opportunities on a local level, one pair of snowshoes at a time. Some warm cider, coffee, and snowshoes laid out in the back of an SUV, maybe demo sets to try out, would go a long way to building brand impressions. Then clicking on a link at https://archive.snowshoemag.com, buying a new pair or upgrading another, magically the sport grows.

This group had two distinct shoe types: classic snowshoes and cleated-type running shoes. Adam wore the Kahtoola Microspikes, as did Zach Pierce. Matthew Patten donned homemade classic ‘screw shoes’ with imbedded sheet metal screws providing bite; keeping up with these front running trail breakers was Tom Voehl sporting a pair of Crescent Moon snowshoes, looking sleek as he whizzed by me.

The second foursome, bringing up “The rear with the gear” in classic FULL METAL JACKET movie fashion, included Karen Gall with red Northern Lites, Carl Gammon’s larger trail floaters from Glacier Snowshoes of a couple years ago in Minneapolis (Carl is cross training for his HURT 100 in January), Jason Shaw sporting new LL Beans with the snap-in toe and boot, and my Atlas self-described ‘mellow yellow’ racers.

The course veered off the main trail about a quarter of a mile in the counterclockwise loop, heading into what can best be described as ‘the snow bowl.’ Featuring a taste of the joy yet to come, this lollipop of a loop, one of several Adam deviantly devised, included a bridgeless stream crossing, mini-ski hills in the winter forest to descend and ascend, and a tour of the backside of the famous “Lenzen” billboard one sees upon approaching westbound the parking area on Highway 212. Up and down the slopes, through the woods to Grandma’s house, and suddenly one is at the triple hill-and-dale section.

The lead group, completing this mini-piece of what felt like the nastiest taste of the Northern Minnesota Superior Hiking Trail, home of the Superior Trail Races, met the second group of snowshoers just as they were ready to begin Mr. Triple. One of the lead said something like, “We’re killing each other on this lap!” This section, sure to stretch any remaining meniscus in the knees to the breaking point, consists of three climbs and three descents in succession. No time for recovery, just like Spring Superior Race Directors Mike Perbix and Gretchen Hass and Fall’s Larry Pederson, no slouch at snowshoeing himself, prefer.

Another nasty lollipop trail off the main path, no candy here, requiring at times grabbing trees to make the steep climb, then back on the regular route again. At the pinnacle, finishing what can be best termed as ‘Mini-Moose’ referring to the killer Moose Mountain along the Superior Hiking Trail. One overlooks the picturesque Minnesota River Valley, light snow drifting down at day break, the city lights of Shakopee tanning the Southwest horizon.

A final lollipop loop down and along a ridge where stepping off would involve some serious tumbling, and then the cool finish on what can best be termed ‘Inspiration Hill.’ This slope through the heavy woods on tracked trails, coming at the end of the lap, with adrenaline following, seems to offer as its reward sudden bursts of insight or problem resolution to those other parts of life — things like careers, family, or as I have written, creative invention.

Multiple loops, hours later, now leaving. Unloading the gear I pick up my Atlas Racers and discover a stick had embedded itself between the bindings, hidden beneath the Outdoor Design calf-high gaiters, and realize I have been given a souvenir for this particular session. Everytime I moved my new little stick, thinking I should throw it away, after all it is only a random twig . . . My mini-branch, just through touch, took me back to some place on this wonderful morning experience. Impossible to discard, setting it on a shelf, it has become my snowshoe-on-a-stick.

And what about the deep fried part? Down in the muscle, as Adam said, “My legs . . . they’re fried.”

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About Phillip Gary Smith

Phillip Gary Smith, Senior Editor, published "The 300-Mile Man" about Roberto Marron's historic doubling of the Tuscobia 150 mile endurance snow run. He publishes "iHarmonizing Competition" on various forms of competition, including drag racing, his favorite motorsport. Earlier, he wrote "HARMONIZING: Keys to Living in the Song of Life" as a manual for life with chapters such as Winning by Losing, Can God Pay Your Visa Bill?, and a young classic story, The Year I Met a Christmas Angel. His book, "Ultra Superior," is the first written on the Superior Trail ultra-distance events. He mixes writing with his profession--the venture capital world--a dying art. He is a creator of CUBE Speakers, a group espousing themes in "HARMONIZING: Keys" in a unique way. Currently, he has two books in the works. Write to him at Phillip@ultrasuperior.com, or find him on Twitter or Facebook @iHarmonizing.