XC Skiing 1:05:00 [2]
slept:2.5
Phew. I was up between 2 and 4 a.m. every night this week, trying to get things done before we went away. After all that, I just hope that I have enough energy left for a vacation!
After a pleasant start to our trip, we drove through heavy, blowing snow east of Georgian Bay, with visibility so poor at times that it would have been tempting to pull over - except that someone might hit us if we did.
So it was ironic to learn that we would be getting the "low snow" discount at the backcountry XC ski lodge we were heading to about 30 km northeast of Sudbury. Somehow, the snow has been missing them this year. They probably have as much as we have in Palgrave, but it's Shield country, so there are a few more rocks to watch for. For the first time in 12 years of going there, we were asked to ski in to the lodge by travelling 6 km across the lake instead of 7 km through the forest. It was actually surprisingly pretty. They had set tracks that weaved among islands and along the shore, so it was as scenic as the forest, although definitely not as hilly.
'Bent, Griff, JM, ThunderDog, BulletDog and I had less than a kilometer to go when we noticed a small skier with excellent form heading speedily toward us. Young Kate, age 9, whom we've known since before she was born, has been getting coached this year, and it shows. She can double-pole as well as Tarno!