Winter in Kananaskis

I’m not one for winter. I’m one for whining and moaning about how much I want winter to go away. However, I will admit that it’s rather pretty, especially in the mountains.

So, yesterday afternoon, Steve and I made our way out to Kananaskis for some old-fashioned photo-adventuring.

The above is probably my favourite photo of the trip. Did you know it was taken from underneath a low footbridge? ‘Cause it was. I follwed Steve off the path and we stepped on to some concrete boards in the ground below the stream. And that’s when I crawled under the bridge.

Needless to say, the snow is much deeper in the mountains than it is here in town. At one point, I had Steve stop along the side of the road so I could run down a picture of some trees that looked as if they’d been crystallized (not unlike that Star Trek: TNG episode that had the Crystalline Entity, which destroyed some colonies).

I walked off the side of the road and immediately sunk down into the snow. My whole leg disappeared and being on the side of the road, it wasn’t that nice forest snow you’d think of when you picture winter in the mountains. No, no, it was gross and brown and full of gravel. But I had a giggle fit anyway.

Enjoy the slide show of winter awesomeness…

Meanwhile, I’ve been thinking about footwear recently. This goes back to when I hiked the Inca Trail and was absolutely hating on my hiking boots. They were heavy and rigid and halfway through the trip, I was thinking to myself, “I’d rather be doing this barefoot at the moment.”

I run in my pumas because I’ve come to understand that running shoes are over-engineered and actually hinder you in the long run. They make the muscles of your legs and lazy, which causes the dreaded runner’s knee, something I’ve had in the past. By getting rid of all the extra cushioning and over-the-top arch support, I suddenly have no issues running. Take that Nike!

Both of these incidents have certainly got me thinking that I should be rethinking all my footwear (just not the heels, you’ll pry those out of my cold, dead hands, thankyouverymuch).

So, while I was getting ready to go for hiking in the snowy mountains, I began to reach for my go to Asolo boots, when I saw my beautiful muk-luks sitting right next to them.

A gift from my sister one Christmas, I figured I’d give them a shot. They have no arch support, very little cushioning and are much warmer and water resistant than anything else I own. I wore them. I hiked around in snow in them. My toes didn’t get cold and I never lost my balance. I will never wear anything else for such an adventure.

Stephen wore his snowboard boots. I laughed at him.