Snowshoeing is cheap, easy and fun for students
Walking in a winter wonderland is a holiday phrase that can become a reality for outdoor enthusiasts who love to snowshoe.
It’s easy, cheap and doesn’t require new skills, and finding a place to go can be as easy as driving through Logan Canyon.
“Snowshoeing is basically wearing bigger shoes that give you more float and allow you to walk closer to the surface on the snow,” said Paul Bowman, manager of USU’s Outdoor Recreation Center.
Bowman said he has been snowshoeing since he was a scout and likes that it’s a nice way to get out and about in the winter. Snowshoers don’t have to spend a lot of money on lift tickets and day passes, and they don’t have to be good at it.
The recreational activity allows a person to hike during a season when they could be knee deep in snow and, if they get tired or don’t like it, Bowman said they can go home without forking out a huge expense.
Snowshoeing can be as easy or hard as a person wants, Bowman said, adding that walking on fresh snow will be more physically taxing than snow that is hard and packed down.
“My favorite part is being able to get out in the back country during the winter,” Bowman said.
In the Logan area, snowshoeing is pretty popular and when snow falls on a Wednesday or Thursday, the ORC generally will run out of shoes by the weekend, Bowman said. For $4, students can rent them for a day, for $8, they can keep them overnight and $10 will buy snowshoes for a weekend.
Lauren Hillstead, a junior majoring in elementary education and special education, rented snowshoes from the ORC with friends and has a few tips for first timers.
“Make sure you put them on the right way,” she said. “They’ll go on if you put them on backwards, and it’s a lot harder to walk.”
Snowshoes go on over boots, Hillstead said, adding that snowshoeing is basically walking in the snow but without sinking so much. She went for the first time on cross country skiing trails in Montana and has been locally at Green Canyon.
“I like doing it because it’s something new and you get to be outside and be active,” she said. “If people like hiking, then they would enjoy it. It’s a fun thing to try.”
Janae Thomson, a junior majoring in social work, tried snowshoeing one year with her roommates and enjoyed it so much she now owns her own equipment. She tries to snowshoe a lot every year during the winter as long as there is enough snow and has been to Tony Grove, Dry Canyon, Green Canyon and even attempted the Wind Caves.
“I love when you run downhill and jump and fall and roll on your back,” Thomson said.
Her advice for first-time snowshoers would be to dress warmly, as if they were planning to go skiing, but other than that, there isn’t much to it.
Bowman suggests going snowshoeing anywhere people can hike, including the river trail and several trails around Wellsville. Snowshoes can be rented at the ORC Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, contact Bowman at 797-3264.
-mnewbold@cc.usu.edu