With this winter’s heavy Black Hills snowfalls, 2009 might be a good year to give snowshoes a try. And the Mickelson Trail folks will help you get started.

I didn’t know this until recently, but the Black Hills Trails Office has snowshoes that you can check out for an afternoon. According to Dana Garry, Mickelson Trail manager, they have about 80 pairs. They’ll also point you to some of the best places in the hills to hike.

Better yet, on four Saturdays this winter the staff will lead organized group snowshoe treks on the Mickelson Trail. The first one is this Saturday, Jan. 10. The others are Jan. 24, Feb. 7 and Feb. 28. You’ll get basic snowshoe training and then participate in a 3-mile hike. You’ll need a trail pass, but otherwise the events are free.

Dana said the staff conducted the snowshoe hikes last winter on the trail. Each event attracted 20 to 40 people, and the hikes were a hit.

One of the best things about snowshoeing is that it can get you into areas that are normally hard to reach in the winter.  If you’ve ever bogged down hiking in deep snow, you know what I mean. For some reason, it’s almost worse when the snow gets a crust. Two steps, plunge, two steps, plunge. It’s pretty exhausting.
The snowshoes spread your weight across a broader surface, allowing you to stay atop the crust as you hike. And we’re not talking about giant wood-and-leather tennis rackets of yesteryear. Modern snowshoes are smaller and made of very lightweight materials.

Another nice thing is that you don’t have to be an athletic, highly trained adrenaline junkie to go snowshoeing. There’s no such thing as extreme snowshoeing, and you don’t need a lot of technical training.
“I think snowshoeing is more of a sport for the Sunday walker, people who enjoy walking – and it takes about that much talent,” Dana said. “Five minutes (of training) and anybody can be on their way. “
She said the training mainly involves learning how to put the snowshoes on. No ski poles, no waxing, no all-day classes, no downhill drama. You just walk.

Several years ago someone gave me a pair of wooden cross-country skis. I spent more time trying to figure out the alchemy of ski wax than I did actually skiing.

This I think I could do.
If you’re interested in giving snowshoes a try, either in a group or on your own, give the Black Hills Trails office a call at (605)584-3896. By the way, the Black Hills Trails Office is located in the old schoolhouse on Nevada Gulch Road – the road to the Terry Peak Ski Area — near Lead.