I didn't shoot guns this time. Instead I got out in the winter, in the snow, and enjoyed it. I snowshoed in the woods, I tracked animal prints, I built snow huts (quinzees), I went DOG sledding. I LOVED winter this weekend, and it felt good.
Snowshoeing was my favorite. The instructor John took us on a long walk in the woods—woods that changed, from tall pines to spindly clear cuts to open fields of deep snow. The property there is beautiful, and in the snow everything was quiet. There are miles of snowshoe trails, but every now and then John would say, "Okay, find your own snow!" and we'd shoe off the trail and just wander.
My roommate Melissa from the September camp went too, and we roomed together again. Our other two roommates were from Wisconsin. Most of the women were from Wisconsin, which gave me plenty of opportunities to hear my new favorite accent. Ohhh yahh, look out for the hodag.
When Melissa and I first signed in and got our room keys, this white-haired woman gave us both a very long hug, because she's a hugger, as she said, even though I'm not. But it was a nice welcome. Then another woman said, "No matter what you do this weekend, just remember it's your weekend." We kept saying it to each other all weekend, like, "Yeah, I'm wearing my long underwear to dinner. It's my weekend!" But really, it is your weekend. The cash bar with seven different kinds of Leinenkugel helps.
The coordinators and speakers tell us to go back and preach Becoming an Outdoorswoman to all the women we know. I would anyway. I love this program. It allows you to try new and exciting things in a beautiful, relaxed environment. (Where the hell else would I ever go dog sledding?) Being outdoors is inspiring, and here you meet so many inspiring and interesting people. The woman who taught my winter survival class (a Finn from Marquette!) was also the guest speaker one night and she talked about skiing to the North Pole and living for a month in the Arctic with a team of ten other women. That's amazing. I mean, you also meet some weirdos, but they make it interesting too. What would you do without that really weird woman who asks to take a drink from your water bottle?
Snowshoeing on Friday afternoon.
The snowshoeing instructor looking for brook trout.
You can't really see the hill, but it's there, and we climbed it.
There were a lot of stuffed animals in this place.
Melissa and our roommate Jackie making plaster casts of animal tracks.
The animal tracking instructor leading our walk. This guy also has a winery in his house and he brought a bottle of his wine as a prize for our quiz. I didn't win.
Someone spotted a grouse fly up into a tree and its wings left this print.
Our room.
In the winter survival class we made these snow huts that you could sleep in that night if you wanted, which I certainly did not. I think only five people did.
Other Roommate and I stomping down the base for a quinzee.
The outside of our dorm.
A finished quinzee the next morning, after TWO people slept in it.
The dog sledding couple, and a dog peeing in the back.
