Winter Hiking/Snowshoeing Clinic

Jon and I had a great time hosting wonderful guys at the house for our winter snowshoeing clinic, then breaking trail at Atwood Pond followed by a great grilled chicken dinner with pasta cooked up by Jon!  

The clinic started indoors discussing how to plan for a winter hike and then moved on reviewing what to take. We ended the indoor portion with watching a few short YouTube videos reinforcing what he had discussed. Jon cooked up some potato nachos to snack on as we watched the videos. We were now prepared winter hikers and lookin’ good!

We then geared up, grabbed our snowshoes, and drove to the nearby Smarts Brook Trailhead. It was a beautiful day with blue skies, plenty of sunshine and temperatures in the 30’s. We began on Smart's Brook Trail for a short distance and then snowshoed on the Tri-Town Trail for about .5 mile at an easy grade upwards until we reached a clearing that is the junction of Atwood Pond Trail. This is an abandoned trail so there is not any signage to identify it.

At this point there are two trails that diverge to the right. We take the left-handed branch of Atwood Pond Trail. We recently had 18 inches of snow so we took turns breaking trail. The clinic paid off as remained prepared and were still lookin’ good!

The trail meanders over easy terrain. After about .05 mile Luis was unable to continue so he waited for us on a sunny log as we continued on our journey. There were lots of deer tracks in the snow so they must be bedding nearby. About .05 mile after we left Luis we reached remote Atwood Pond to enjoy the warm sunshine below this huge ledge and the view.

There was a beaver lodge so we got closer to check it out. We then headed back, picked up Luis and snowshoed back to the truck. Luis stayed at the truck, while the rest of us checked out the ice flows on the Smart’s River Gorge. We all agreed, today we were not only prepared winter hikers, but more importantly, we were lookin’ good doing it!

Back at the house we enjoyed snacks followed a great grilled lemon chicken dinner with pasta, broccoli and salad! 

Trip Report: Mike
Pictures: Jon

This workshop session is intended for individuals with limited experience in the New England outdoors who would like to start winter activities safely! Our focus is on below treeline travel...above treeline travel would be an entirely different clinic. 

There is a terrible misconception: some folks think winter is a cold and dreary time. They complain of feeling cold all the time; even indoors with the heat cranked. The reality is the problem isn’t winter. It’s a lack of activity. To enjoy winter one must stay active. That’s where this course comes in: it prepares one for being active in winter (with a decidedly hiking and snowshoeing slant, we admit).

Learn how to prepare to be outdoors for extended periods. Learn how to remain comfortable. What to wear, what to eat, how to manage your gear, and how to manage yourself. We also teach you how to be prepared if you become inactive — as the case might be if one were to be injured, for example. Instruction includes an introduction to snowshoeing outdoors and practice winter route finding skills. 

The course starts indoors at 9 AM inside the Sandwich Dome Lodge. Feel free to wear your street clothes for the morning session to be comfortable.   

We’ll spend the morning indoors reviewing the basics, have lunch indoors and then venture out to beautiful Atwood Pond to practice using snowshoes, breaking trail, and route finding. It will be about a 3-mile loop hike on an abandoned trail to Atwood Pond that is rarely used. There is little elevation gain.  If you have any specific interests or needs that you feel should be covered, please let us know.

Snowshoes are required to attend this clinic. If you need to rent a pair, we’ll take time at the end of the morning session for you to pick up a pair to rent from nearby Ski Fanatics, but we highly recommend you call them to reserve a pair at 603-726-4327.

What to Bring 

• DAY PACK: Big enough so if you take clothes off as you warm up, they can fit inside.
• COTTON CLOTHING: Synthetic clothing dries quickly and is the best choice for outdoor pursuits. Please do not wear cotton clothing including blue jeans. When wet, cotton rapidly robs the heat from your body and takes a long time to dry. We also recommend you dress in multiple layers, allowing you more flexibility to comfortably respond to the weather conditions and your level of exertion.
• THINK LAYERS: Start with a base layer synthetic/wool long underwear tops and bottoms, rain/nylon pants that goes over your underwear bottoms, a middle layer of fleece/wool/down sweater and a rain jacket. Ski jackets are too hot for winter hiking.
• BRING MORE than you think you need. Mountain weather can be very tricky and unpredictable. While it may be nice in town, the mountains are different. Being prepared can save your life.
• HAT AND GLOVES/MITTENS, will help you stay warm. We like hand warmers to put inside our gloves.
• FOR FOOTWEAR, wear proper, insulated winter hiking boots with wool or synthetic socks.
• WATER: One-quart water bottle [no hydration systems; lines freeze up]
• SNACKS
• SNOWSHOES
• MICROSPIKES [if you have them]
• OPTIONAL FOR THIS CLINIC: Headlamp with spare batteries, whistle, tarp/bivy, lightweight emergency sleeping pad

We don't want you to spend a whole lot of money on clothing/gear to attend this clinic so if you want to discuss options, please contact us! 

LODGING

Weekend lodging [Friday and Saturday night] at the Sandwich Dome Lodge for 8 guys with Saturday night dinner is available for $60 while space lasts. Please be sure you will definitely be attending when you sign up…we don’t want anyone who is tentative to limit any sort of waiting list. If we run out of space, we can recommend options.     

SATURDAY NIGHT

Once we get back indoors from our snowshoeing trip, we’ll change back into our lodge clothes, start up the fireplace, and enjoy snacks/appetizers and drinks. It’s BYOB and please bring some snacks/appetizers to share. Jon will be preparing a delicious dinner.  

If you are not lodging with us and would like to join, please let us know so we have enough food for everyone. The cost will be $10 to cover our expenses.