Before moving to Maine in 2015, I had never snowshoed before. I didn’t even have the desire and likely never even thought of it. Yet, once we got settled and the snow started to fall during our first winter, I knew I wanted to take up this classic Maine winter sport! I bought my snowshoes from the flagship L.L.BEAN store in Freeport, Maine that December, which was a fun experience if you have never been! We then got two pairs from my mother-in-law that Christmas and our adventuring began.
This year, a confident and excited me decided not only was I going to get outside and be active every month with the amazing community I started with Northwoods Wellness Collective, but I was also going to embrace my life as a new “Mainer” and take part in as many Maine adventures as possible, new and old.
“It is like we are in a real life snow globe!”
On February 10th with a high of 28ºF and minimal wind, a great group of folks left from the parking lot near Dunn Point at Lily Bay State Park. With some seasoned adventurers, new explorers like myself and one first-timer, we trekked the entirety of the park’s trails, about 4 miles round trip. We did make the trail a loop by snowshoeing on Moosehead Lake in Rowell Cove before connecting back up with the maintained trail. The seasoned among us led the pack and kindly broke in some trail for those of us taking up the rear.
I will be forever grateful for our newbie who was not only a champion, pushing through all 4 miles even though she was starting to get tired, but she also helped us find a pace that let us take in our surroundings and let nature work wonders on minds and bodies! The calming smell of winter air, the occasional sighting of animal tracks and the slight chance of sunshine kissing your face all helped us focus on relaxing, breathing deeply and savoring these near-magical moments.
“It’s like frosting on cookies,” Barbara, a fellow explorer said as she admired how the snow rested on the branches of the tall evergreens sheltering us from the wind.
Just as snow began to flurry gently down on us towards the end of our trip, my adventure pal, Amber looked up at the trees and sky with a contagious smile as wide as could be and said, “It is like we are in a real-life snow globe!” I laughed, not because it was funny, but because it was true. The sky above us was a blanket of white, the ground beneath us, a blanket of white and the towering trees surrounding us, weighed down by snow. This was a special moment, a beautiful moment. Amber, a Florida native reminded me that it was a Maine moment.
Before returning to our cars and our busy and hectic lives, we took in the last bit of the rich forest, realized winter will be soon coming to a close and discussed our next adventure. Stay tuned for more Adventures!