noun: inauguration
Noun: the beginning or introduction of a system, policy, or period.
noun: click bait
(on the internet) content whose main purpose is to attract attention and encourage visitors to click on a link to a particular web page.
Sorry, I do not do politics. This inauguration was the introduction of a new period of Cross Country skiing this past Saturday, January 16th, 2021, after an 11-year hiatus. I travelled to Grayling, Michigan for 2 days of skiing at the Cross Country Ski Headquarters, Roscommon.
When you recall the best days of skiing from your past, what comes to mind is a fresh overnight snow. One where the snow stuck to everything, turning the forest into a white coated world. There is no breeze, just a dead calm. All sound is muffled by the snow. Whenever you slide to a stop, all you hear is the pulse beating in your ear. Occasionally you might hear a bird, probably a crow or raven. If you see a deer, it is more like an apparition, than a real flesh and blood animal.
Saturday was a day like that. The Ski Headquarters maintains several loop trails in the forest, expertly machine tracked for skate skiers or diagonal striders. I paid my trail fee, crossed the road to the trailhead and stepped into a new pair of Fischer Twin Skin skis. I felt a little wobbly and off balance for a few strides and then stabilized and was down the trail. Nordic skiing is like riding a bicycle. You never forget how to do it.
The first loop to the right, Tail Pines, was labeled on the map as “flat”. So, I skipped it. The one on the left, called Rolling Hills, I was not yet ready to try. So, I took the second loop to the right, Wild Turkey. It was a slight up and down course through a couple of open meadows and cave like passages through the snow coated pines. It is a good beginner trail, with 2 or 3 nice easy glides.
Next, I headed up a moderate climb to Trappers Cabin. An employee had just snow-shoed to the location, pulling a sled. He started a warming blaze in the fire ring and set up a stand with Gatorade, juices and water. Many beginners assume that the problem with skiing is staying warm. They bundle up with heavy coats and snow pants, or sometimes jeans. These limit motion, and result in a large build up of perspiration. You then get thirsty and you discover that moisture in the cold is your enemy. As soon as you stop, the moisture starts to evaporate in the dry air and steals your body heat. A warming fire and bottle of water can be a life saver.
At the Trappers Cabin, you either turn back towards the trailhead, or you tackle the Manitou loop. It is a 3.1-mile loop designated as moderate. There are 2 main hills that you must climb and then descend. On top of the second hill, there is a picnic table, should one need a rest stop.
Climbing just takes effort. Descending can be a nice effortless glide, or can turn your hair gray, depending on the grade, the sharpness of any turns, the width of the trail, your weight, how well your skis glide, and the off-trail obstructions (in case you fly off the trail). This trail was not steep, though a heavier person will pick up some speed. There were also no sharp turns and the trail is very wide, so one can “snowplow” if they wish to go slower. For many beginners, the tendency is to tense up, or freeze. Loss of control is the result and can sometimes lead to flying off the trail and potentially hitting a tree or scraping through brush. Do not freeze. You must stay relaxed and if you are moving too fast and have no control, sit down. You will stop very quickly. A butt on snow is like a big anchor.
After the Manitou trail and a quick break at the cabin, I took the short, flat Adventure trail and then headed for the trailhead.
On Sunday, I returned and skied the Tall Pines trail (flat) to warm up, and then did the Rolling Hills loop. On this loop you also climb 2 hills, but unlike the Manitou, the downhill sections are slightly steeper and have some sharper turns.
Whenever you engage in any kind of strenuous activity after a long absence, you discover muscles you have not used in a while. They will let you know later in the day when you are resting. For me, it was my left big toe. Why you might ask? Because the muscles in your foot are used to “edge” your ski when going downhill. In order to control speed and change direction, you tip the inside of the ski up on its edge. That requires muscles on the inside of the foot and big toe. On the downhill sections of the trails, I was edging the skis to control direction and speed. My big toe muscles where not used to doing that so, sore foot.
A good analogy for edging, is a knife and cheese. If you hold the knife straight and push back and forth, it takes little pressure and force to slice through the cheese. But, if you turn the knife at an angle to the direction of the slice, you are no longer slicing. You are scraping or grating. It takes more effort, and the result is not a clean cut, but rather a flake of cheese gets “plowed up”. When you edge a ski, you plow up snow and that creates resistance. It can slow you down, or if you edge one ski more that the other, you get a difference in resistance that causes you to turn.
The Ski Headquarters trails were excellent for getting reacquainted with XC skiing. They were not too difficult or technical for a new start. The weather provided one of those banner, unforgettable days that reminded me why I liked to ski so much.
Starting All Over 