Dare Mighty Things

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those timid spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." -Teddy Roosevelt

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Scouting Trip

With a little more than a week to go, the Pooh Hill Snowshoe Scramble course is beginning to take shape...finally. Anyone who knows me knows this is generally not how I operate. I'm the guy with the 50 item checklist for races and events. Teammates ask me for copies of my checklists. Putting on a great show for our participants means everything to me. For the past few weeks, it seems any number of circumstances have conspired against me getting up to King Pine & Purity Spring Resort to set this course. Despite this being the best college football day of the year...Pop, Brayden, & I were in the parking lot at the resort this morning at 8:00 AM. With air temps in the single numbers and wind chills below zero (on one of my few days off), for a fleeting moment I wondered what in the world motivates me to do these things? When we finally started and snowshoed our way around Purity Lake on the nordic trail network the answer came to me...it's about spending time with family and experiencing the natural beauty that surrounds us. We had a great morning. The trek up the Pooh Hill Trail was spectacular and an interesting surprise greeted us near the summit of Toll Hill. A small, fairly neglected cabin with a wood stove was nestled among the evergreens. One of the 'hallmarks' of our events is my father positioned at the top of the highest point of the course greeting people as they're ready to hurl their morning coffee and muffin. Stocked but locked, this cabin may play a role in next weekend's event. Although I'll plan to head back up there again this weekend and work a little more on the bushwhack, the course is 99% completed and will measure approximately 8 km. I think it's a great mix of groomed nordic, ungroomed snowshoe, and backcountry authentic old-school snowshoe tramping. Although the roughly .3 mile climb up the Pooh Hill Trail will leave many cursing my name, all will be forgiven on the FAST and packed groomed nordic trails that constitute at least 1/2 the course. I'm excited to get the first race of the Granite State Snowshoe Series off to a great start!

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