WP Snowshoeing Excursion

While it seems the latest focus on everyone’s mind is getting physically fit and healthy, it came as no surprise that yet another challenge to get those bodies moving presented itself. It was at the suggestion of our very own fitness advocate Andrea Jaggers, to get everybody up to the snow for a fun and challenging day of snowshoeing.

While not everyone on the snowshoeing expedition did so to lose the lbs.; it was also a perfect way to help build up the endurance, while taking in the wintery beauty of the surroundings. Of course for me, the joy of capturing a photo or two for the W+P history books was motivation enough. Needless to say, it was a nice sized group that consisted of W+P employees and a few willing family members. (JTW, Diane, Paul, Claudia, Mark, Robi, Rose, Rich, Trish, her daughter Zara, Andrea, Brian L. and Leah.)

What was quite special about the whole excursion was home base happened to be Jim & Diane’s quaint, cozy little cabin with a beautiful roaring fire in the fireplace and a sampling of their wonderful hospitality of fresh baked scones to start our morning, followed by home cooked chili and chowder (Diane’s specialty), a fresh tossed salad and bagets for lunch. The funny story about the bagets is Rich (my husband) had a hard time keeping them safely tucked into his backpack as we hiked from car to cabin. Every time he would re-position his heavy load, the loaves of bagets would tumble out of his backpack. Finally, after four drops in the snow, we tucked them in a little tighter and they eventually made it to the cabin. The cabin was so warmly decorated & welcoming, and the beautiful view off the back deck was an added bonus. It was a perfect location to capture a few photos.
Prior to our hike, we received a brief little history lesson (which we were quizzed on later) about the area and the cabin itself from JTW. For a moment, it was like attending a great field trip with your favorite history teacher providing all the interesting fun facts of knowledge. After the interesting history lesson, we were on our way.

We had more than a few interesting moments occurred while on the hike…

“The two best moments were Andrea sinking up to her waist and her tackle on Brian.
“My dewatering stop was pretty good at that particular moment (aka – making yellow snow). My back teeth were starting to float.” -Mark Posnick

“Watching Andrea sink up to her waist…twice!” –Robi
Yes, Andrea was at the lead and one miscalculated step landed her waist deep in the snow. It took Jim, Paul and Mark’s assistance to dig her out. On the return trip my husband Rich also miscalculated his footing but ‘Mighty Mouse’ Robi was there to save the day! The challenge to complete the hike to the top with everyone else seemed easy enough, my body communicated differently, so Claudia Walsh and I opted to pair up head back to the cozy confines of the cabin, where Diane waited for everyone to return. So, one might say that there was a great deal of team building and spirited camaraderie that also took place.

As if the workout for the day wasn’t enough, with Mark P. and Brian L. at the helm several of us in the group made a great attempt at shoveling all the snow off the back deck of the cabin. JTW supervised (with hot coffee in hand mind you) from confines of his cozy cabin. The heap of snow proved to be a bigger challenge than the hike itself… so we’ll leave it to Mr. Sunshine might complete that task.

I hear talk of a spring wildflower hike coming up. I am certain the beauty of the area changes with every season bringing another feast for the all the senses. Maybe all the fair weathered hikers will come on board for this next one.
- Rose Cottle

Andrea recalls the day...
“the shock of having to snow shoe in to the cabin...
the smell of fresh baked scones when we walked in...
the feel of snow falling softly all around us...
slight panic at being swallowed up by the snowy earth...
a winter storm looming in the background...
looking back, to see how far we've come (in so many ways...)
a last ditch effort at pushing our limits...
laughing so hard I almost pee'd my pants...
returning to the warm cabin for a relaxing glass of wine...
not being able to taste it, because my mouth and lips were on fire from the chili...
falling asleep soundly that night, with a smile on my face.”
- Andrea Jaggers