Cross Country Skiing UPDATED

Over the last few months we have taken up a

new hobby, cross-country skiing.

Initially Brent learned how to ski and then he taught me. The first time he took me out was quite an adventure! It was 14 degrees outside in the dark but we had our head lamps on and the surface of the snow was rather icy. While the soccer field that we skied around was rather flat, there were a few hills that we had to summit (or more realistically climb up, but summit sounds more adventurous). Coming back we went down a few hills. It's amazing how fast you go skiing down what appears to be a little hill when it's dark outside, the snow is icy and it's your first time out there! I fell a few times but overall it was a lot of fun and felt pretty natural. And because my first exposure to skiing was in rather challenging conditions, the next time when I went out in the daylight and warmer conditions it was much easier!

We are blessed that we can literally ski down the road from our driveway. Girdwood has over 30 miles of untracked trails. In addition, there are also groomed trails in Moose Meadows. Cross country skiing is a great form of exercise (about as strenuous as jogging) and the scenery is breath-taking. Sometimes we even see/hear dog sled teams. It's been enjoyable to learn this new skill.

Last weekend we met a couple out skiing. They indicated that they were parked near the resort but when they tried to go to their car a moose started chasing them. There's never a dull moment here, each day has its own adventure!