Second Snowshoe Success!

Hello all,

Yesterday's snowshoe was a blast. The weather was beautiful, cold but sunny, and after Jon Wescott handed out the snowshoes and everyone was strapped into them, we headed off.

We tromped down the trail, following it into the woods and along the river. The soft sound of everyone's snowshoes scuffing the trail was our constant companion, making it unlikely that we would see any wildlife, although we did see plenty of tracks. Some of the kids kept stopping to pick up leaves and sticks on the trail which slowed us a little, but it was nice to see they were enjoying themselves.

Then we stopped under a huge oak and Jon started up his kettle boiler for hot chocolate. The kids were very inquisitive about how it worked, and looked like they liked snapping twigs into small bits to fuel the fire.

As I said in an earlier post, when I was little Jon taught at a school I went to, and he used to take us on the most amazing field trips. We'd adventure up North and go dog sledding and hiking and skiing in the woods, and I loved it. Jon always had a knack for making it seem like a grand adventure. And as I sat watching Jon feed the fire in the kettle, that feeling rushed back to me and I felt like I was ten years old, on one of those magnificent field trips again.

Then the water was boiling and Jon poured out the cocoa and we served it up. We all sat and sipped our hot drinks, while a few kids played around the big oak. Then we headed off again, back towards home.

All in all it was just as much fun as the last one.

Thanks so much to Jon for having the idea of the snowshoe, and for heading our expedition! I really appreciate it. And thanks also to everyone who came! Thank you so much for your support and contributions. I hope you enjoyed the snowshoe as much as I did.


Pictures:

Hila

First Gear Purchase

Hello,

I'm very excited because I bought my first real item for the trip, a backpack! A lot of thought went into the choice, and I'm very pleased with the outcome. (Although I have yet to heft 50 pounds up a mountain in it). It's an Arc'teryx Bora 80L Backpack, the one recommended by Kroka Expeditions for the trip, that I managed to find for a reasonable price on eBay. It is amazing just thinking that this is going to come with me all the way to Ecuador. Hiking in the rainforest, climbing in the highlands... this will be on my back the whole time!

The backpack:

Hila

Snowshoe Success!

Hello!

I've just had a wonderful fundraising day of snowshoeing with many friends. I can't wait for the next one on the 24th! It was great fun and the weather was crisp and beautiful. The trail was packed hard, and turkey, squirrel, fox and deer prints were scattered across the snow around us. We followed the river for a time then turned up the path over some hills and stopped for a few minutes by a huge old oak. I felt so lucky to live in this beautiful place, and to be able to share it with others. Then we continued around the loop towards home.

We were out for about an hour, then arrived back at the house and enjoyed some hot soup. We talked and laughed until it was time for people to go. I couldn't have wished it to be better! Thank you so much to all you snowshoers who contributed towards my trip. It is so greatly appreciated.

If you'd like to come to the next snowshoe on the 24th of February, here's the info. Hope to see you then!

Here are some pictures of it all:

Hila

Jaguar

Hi all,

Another painting is finished! I'm taking it in to be scanned for cards today... pictures below.

I've been marking a trail for the snowshoe, (read about it here) very fun as it is so beautiful out! Snowflakes glint in the sun and the snow-covered pine bows make it seem as though I'm stepping through a postcard. I'm very much looking forward to the outing later this month.

Here's my finished painting:

Acrylics on Canvas, 16''x20'' 2/2011,
Jaguar © Hila

And the process from beginning to end:

Finished Painting