# 11- Try snowshoeing or cross-country skiing

Taking a break with snowshoes on.

Okay, at first, after getting onto the snow, we both kind-of wondered what the point was.  Why must you put on heavy, awkward shoes to go hiking?  What is the purpose of snowshoeing?  We probably could have hiked some of the trail just fine in our regular shoes, although we may have fallen through deeper.  We did wonder what we were actually doing out in the snow in oversized shoes along with a hundred other people.  I found myself lifting my feet up high, trying to lift the snowshoes off the ground, until I noticed that other people were walking normally (duh, Fairlight, that's why they bend).  But about the same time we came to the same conclusion...snowshoeing just seems so much more adventuresome than simply hiking.  And it does keep you above the snow, which was plenty deep!  Plus it works some serious muscles that I don't think would have been sore after a 4-mile hike on regular trails.  We hiked the Trillium Lake trail and actually had a lot of fun.  The snow covered lake with Mt. Hood as a back drop was absolutely gorgeous, and the hike through snow covered woods wasn't bad either.  We ended up getting a later start than we planned, but even so we had plenty of daylight to make it around the lake at a relaxed pace with a little bit of goofing around added in.

By Trillium Lake

As we walked along we found ourselves throwing snowballs at each other (okay, I threw a snowball because I sometimes get a little bored and it started a very short snowball war).  A little while up the path, as we walked by a snowbank I was blindsided by a shove from my right.  That is right, my fiance shoved me into a snowbank, unprovoked.  Not expecting it, I completely fell into the snow.  Don't worry, there was retaliation later on down the trail.  They say "a couple who plays together, stays together" or is that pray?  Doesn't really matter, we do both, but I can definitely say that I enjoy the playing part.  It is a quality I desperately wanted in my future husband and I have found it.
The trail was a little bit harder than I was expecting, but then we did walk around 4 miles through snow, with extra large shoes on, so it was bound to make us a little sore if nothing else because it was our first time out there.

We were both struck by how many families were out snowshoeing.  I loved seeing kids in small snowshoes or infants in front packs, but my favorite were the sleds or bike trailers jimmyrigged with skis and pvc pipe to make an attachment to be pulled by wrapping around the waist.  There were also plenty of cross country skiing families, but I lean towards the snowshoeing.  I have never skiied and don't fancy the idea of my 3-year-old being way ahead of me in terms of ability on skis.

This shows how deep the snow actually is...next to the road sign.

I must admit, we were both probably ready to be done about three-fourths of the way through, but we persevered, even up the last final push back to the trailhead.  They really should work on making these trails more user friendly.  I would much rather hike down to the trailhead instead of up to it at the end of the hike.  Okay, nature might have something to do with that.

This is where Aaron was going to propose, but he made a smart move proposing the weekend before. We don't usually plan events and this one had been on the calendar for a couple of weeks.  He made a special point of putting it on our calendar, so it was a little suspicious.  As it was, we had our lovely first-time-for-both-of-us snowshoeing hike as a newly engaged couple.  Thanks to everyone who loaned us boots and gave us tips on where to rent snowshoes and where to hike.  We had a great time!