Canadian adventure
One of the NH AMC leaders put together a three day cross country ski trip to Orford in Quebec. We rented little cottages inside the park and my parents joined us.
On Friday we drove up. Amazingly we got out of the house early and arrived before noon. The cabin was not supposed to be available until 3pm, but we caught the cleaning crew and Dad used his best French to ask if the cabin was ready. So we unpacked, had lunch, and headed out the door for a wonderful afternoon of skiing. Then Ted called saying he had run off the road south of the border and needed to be rescued. I got back in the car and drove south. The rest of the family had fun skiing.
Saturday most of the group got together at 8:30 and headed out skiing. All the trails in the park are groomed. The snow on the sides of the trails was the same height as the groomed snow, but we discovered rather quickly and repeatedly that it was light fluffy powder that you sank into your knees. We took advantage of the lodge to let Isaac wiggle. I rented some boots for skating and tucked them in the pulk. We ended up zigzagging through the park. After 8 or so miles, half the group split off and took a more direct route home. I was having fun covering distance, so we did 15 miles. A lot of that was labeled black or blue, but their terrain was so flat everything was easy.
Sunday we packed up the cabin and went out for a last morning ski. Ted and I worked on skate skiing in preparation for my PSIA class while the rest of them found a fun blue and black trail. Either the instructor for the previous class was really sloppy when distinguishing the two skating cadences V1 and V2, or I just really did not get it. Ted clarified a lot of things which made my skating more effective. I needed to return my rented boots, so I skated to the other end of the park while my parents pulled Isaac. Tyson rested and drove the car around to meet us. Then we drove home.
On Friday we drove up. Amazingly we got out of the house early and arrived before noon. The cabin was not supposed to be available until 3pm, but we caught the cleaning crew and Dad used his best French to ask if the cabin was ready. So we unpacked, had lunch, and headed out the door for a wonderful afternoon of skiing. Then Ted called saying he had run off the road south of the border and needed to be rescued. I got back in the car and drove south. The rest of the family had fun skiing.
Saturday most of the group got together at 8:30 and headed out skiing. All the trails in the park are groomed. The snow on the sides of the trails was the same height as the groomed snow, but we discovered rather quickly and repeatedly that it was light fluffy powder that you sank into your knees. We took advantage of the lodge to let Isaac wiggle. I rented some boots for skating and tucked them in the pulk. We ended up zigzagging through the park. After 8 or so miles, half the group split off and took a more direct route home. I was having fun covering distance, so we did 15 miles. A lot of that was labeled black or blue, but their terrain was so flat everything was easy.
Sunday we packed up the cabin and went out for a last morning ski. Ted and I worked on skate skiing in preparation for my PSIA class while the rest of them found a fun blue and black trail. Either the instructor for the previous class was really sloppy when distinguishing the two skating cadences V1 and V2, or I just really did not get it. Ted clarified a lot of things which made my skating more effective. I needed to return my rented boots, so I skated to the other end of the park while my parents pulled Isaac. Tyson rested and drove the car around to meet us. Then we drove home.