Santa Fe Snowshoe Classic

This has been the best winter for snow since we moved to Santa Fe.  (We probably have El Nino to thank for that.)  I haven't gotten back into skiing yet this season (partially due to the time commitment and the childcare expenses involved, and partially to avoid injury), but I have really enjoyed hiking in the woods with my snowshoes.  This past weekend I participated in the Santa Fe Snowshoe Classic, a 3.8-mile snowshoe race on forest trails in the Sangre de Cristo mountains.  It has been a goal of mine to do a snowshoe race, and I'm so glad I finally did it!  The route was a scenic loop at 9600-ft elevation, following the Big Tesuque Trail, Pacheco Canyon Road and the Winsor Trail.  I had never hiked this stretch of trail before and enjoyed seeing a new part of the forest.  The first half of the trail was mostly downhill, followed by a long climb up the remainder of the loop.  It was vaguely reminiscent of my Nordic ski racing days (minus the spandex and sub-zero temperatures).  I jogged when I could and hiked most of the race, and enjoyed the company of some friends too!  The goals and athleticism of participants varied, from families enjoying a fun winter sport together to competitive runners hoping to set a new PR, and I finished smack dab in the middle of my age group, a result with which I am perfectly content.  I hope to make this race an annual tradition!  
Big T trail
Racers lining up at the start
Hiking along the Winsor trail

On the theme of winter, I discovered this beautiful passage about the desolate beauty of a snow-covered scene in a book I read last week, The Whale: A Love Story, by Mark Beauregard, a novel based on the secretive love affair between Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne:
"As desolate as the landscape seemed, Herman still saw that the whiteness paradoxically enhanced the beauty of every object it touched: the rotting roof of the lean-to over the woodpile, now hidden by an unbroken plaster of snow; the newly statuesque solemnity of the old out-house, redeemed into politeness by its alabaster coat; and the spindly bare branches of maple trees, rising like the marbled fingers of Bernini sculptures from the blank white pedestal of earth below.  This is how beauty must be, he thought, not pretty and safe but unbearable and blank and fierce with the horror of isolation."

Happy winter!  Enjoy the snow and stay warm out there!  

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