XC Skiing at Teacup Lake

It only took 34 years, but I finally put on a pair of skis. Teacup is a zoo on the weekends, especially with this run of gorgeous weather.  The snow was getting mushy and my rented skiis had too much grip, but my girlfriend and I had a giggly, sweaty, wonderful time regardless. I freaking love it - now, to get braver and faster!

The Sun Chaser

The mountain must have heard I've been waiting 36 hours to get up there and try out my new snowhoes, because the forecast changed from mostly sunny and clear to cold as shit and gray in about the two hours it took me to get there. I got out of the car and started up the trail at Summit Ski Area, quickly decided that I didn't want to spiral from a mild cold into a full-blown flu, and kept on driving. The road was icy and a little sketchy, but the Subie did fine even without snow tires. On the other side of the mountain, I finally found my sun. So there's that, which was nice.

Iron Constitution

Being productive right now is a huge effort. I tagged along on a rainy wine country ramble with my husband and his biking buddy the other day, and while I didn't embarrass myself completely, I was certainly tired with only 28 miles and 1500 feet of climbing. The only reason I even thought I could keep up is because it was supposed to be an easy ride due to our friend being "injured." And it was, objectively, an easy ride. But I have a long way to go before summer to get where I need to be, even to where I was in 2011. With that in mind, I hit the running trail again today. Only did three miles, but it felt good. Afterwards, I read another chapter in my Ben Franklin biography - in the winter I like to read about badasses with iron constitutions to inspire me. That's a good phrase, that one. A coworker described me that way last week -- but he's from New York, so he doesn't know that I'm like the first or second rung on the ladder above pussy compared to all these hearty Pacific Northwesterners who triathalon to work and rappel into bed. But I'm going to try to be inspired with that image of myself as the season progresses.

My First Snowshoe!

Gorgeous hike on groomed trails from Ski Bowl West on the Glade Trail on Mount Hood up to near the PCT at Timberline. Rented showshoes from REI, but I can see a new gear purchase in the immediate future.