Day 3.049: Snowshoe there

After lunch, we went down to Five Rivers to attempt a family snowshoe hike. Well, I say 'hike', after our previous rather short and sometimes grumpy attempt, we were cautious about what we would achieve.

Once again, I decided to carry E5N1 in the backpack. I was rather more confident in my own cleat-equipped snowshoes than I had been in borrowed ones last time which compensated for the additional weight that the last fourteen months have allowed him to develop. The rest of the party went off to pick up their own - the girls getting plastic ones, and Exile #2 a rather fetching traditional-style pair.

We set off on what we expected to be a small circuit on the flat and turned into a two hour hike on what is probably the most challenging trail as far as terrain goes. The girls did incredibly well, although they did need a bit of encouragement and a brief snowball fight to keep going towards the end.

Occasionally, the path was so flat and unchallenging that they found themselves unable to stay on their feet

But mostly, it was a happy outing.

E5N1 eventually persuaded me to let him 'walk in the snow' when we were within sight of the car.

He managed to fall over and get his bare hands buried in the snow within about twenty seconds and in the end I carried him - rather gingerly - back to the car on my shoulders.