Snowshoeing and Skiing in Lake Itasca State Park

Enrico and I drove out to Lake Itasca State Park ahead of a winter storm. We arrived at 12:30pm, checked into our four-season suite, and got into our new snowshoes purchased from Costco (thought it appeared they were sold out, a salesperson tipped us off that a set had been returned, so we went for it). We headed out on the Dr. Roberts trail, fueled by John Wheeler's fruitcake. About midway through the loop, the snow, which had been falling gently when we arrived, started falling with greater intensity. We enjoyed the solitude, the fresh air, the beauty of Itasca in winter time. Enjoyed it so much, we proceeded to have a 12-hour nap upon return to our cabin (is 7:30pm too early to turn in? No? Okay then). 

When we woke up there were several inches of new snow, so we headed out on our Trak waxless skis. I had stashed a couple of baguettes with prosciutto and brie in my backpack, along with some spicy green tea, some apples slices, and, of course, water. 

His and hers Trak waxless skis

We stared out on the Ozawindib Trail, headed south. It had already been rolled, but tracks were not set. Though the storm had ended, little gusts of wind sent mini clouds of snow erupting from the high branches of white pines. Once we passed the crossover trail, the trail was not rolled and we began breaking trail. We determined to go all the way to the North Country trail, follow it west for 3.1 K and then head back north on Deer Park trail, a loop we had hiked in the fall, while camping at McKay Lake.

It was delightful to break trail--I love the feeling of new snow piling up against my shins, like snuggling into a down comforter up to my chin. My feet are warm inside my wools socks and ski boots, while the fluffy snow piles up around my feet and lower legs. Once we were on the southernmost part of the trail, the sun came out, and we felt like we were in a magical space--beauty all around us. We had been following the footprints of a fox, softened by the snow that had fallen during the night, but now, he had veered off, and we broke through pristine powder. Whereas I had taken the lead and the pleasure of this duty, after a couple of hours we traded places. Once we had reached the point where the trail headed north again, back to Lake Itasca, we looked for a fallen log in the sunshine to sit and eat our lunch, which our bodies were craving. A good spot presented itself just ten yards off the trail, so we went over, and sat down to rest and eat, just for the length of time it took to consume most of our sandwiches, as we chilled down pretty fast. Afterward, I was happy I had packed dry mittens and a thicker hat, which I changed into. With the blood headed to our stomachs to digest the food, our fingers and toes got a bit cold (it was 18 degrees F, to the positive), so we stopped to swing our arms. 

We stopped at the McKay Lake camp site where we had camped in the fall. It is also beautiful in winter. From there, it was a bit of a slog back. We arrived back at our cabin as the sun was setting--a 4.5 hour ski tour. The only animals we saw were this lovely orange breasted bird, busy pecking at a white pine and a single squirrel. I love this quiet time of year and am grateful that I had the strength to be out skiing for four and half hours to witness the beauty of this season. 

Last rays of winter light on December 30th