Over the weekend a few friends and I were able to slip away from the daily grind to Northern Michigan for a wintry getaway and while there we noticed an evolving trend. Being in a few small local towns over the weekend which were being hit with some decent snow we noticed many people using snowshoes to get around and to move from place to place. These town were mostly small and the restaurants, stores and other establishments are typically fairly close. I have heard stories of people getting snowed in and using snowshoes as a way out of sticky situations but to actual see first hand people using snowshoes as an activity as well as a mode of transportation was amazing.
It was evermore evident when stopped at a gas station that also offered a selection of sandwiches and sides there was a man dressed in what looked to be a very warm snow suit and he was standing in line for the register, sandwich and snowshoes in hand. I’m sure some out of towners may have snickered and laughed at such a site but not me, I envied, it was amazing to see someone not going out to their car after shopping but out to their snowshoes rather!
It may have been a fluke or this may be a trending topic but either way it is something that when done is helping the environment and helping promote healthy snowshoe users, both of which are great things. Living a couple miles from home I’ve never given much thought to snowshoeing to town but maybe during the next big snow I’ll ditch the car keys in exchange for some snowshoes.
