Activity: Snowshoeing
Location: Sebago Lake Land Reserve/Portland Water District Land Windham/Standish
Directions: From Portland take Brighton Avenue (Rt 25) into Westbrook, stay on 25 through Main St. and towards Gorham. After the Dunkin Donuts you will bear right onto Rt. 237. Stay on Rt. 237 until almost the end, where 237 meets 35. We parked at the Sebago Lake Protection Office located at 1 White Rock Rd Standish ME 04084. (We were going to park at one of the trailheads off 237 before this office, but the parking area had not been plowed.)
Cost: Free
Parking: We were the only ones here so parking was not an issue. I think there are times when this office is open and it is likely parking may be more difficult. (Sorry I did not take photos.)
Safety Note: Some of the trails here are used by snowmobiles! They come fast... make sure you are listening and watching for them so you can get off the trails as they pass!
Notes: There is a kiosk at the start of the trails. You need to register here, putting a copy in your vehicle so they know people are out on the trail. One of the women I was with said that she had gotten an official warning when she failed to do so once... and that warning apparently said that if she received another warning she would be banned from using this land.
FMI: Use the links to visit the website/ trail maps (you must download.)
As I try to be healthier and more active I have also been trying to meet new people and be active with them. I have a neighbor who I am getting to know. She is great! She is not originally from Maine, but has done a hell of a job getting to know places in this area to explore with hiking/snowshoeing. I had reached out to her to see if she wanted to snowshoe on Monday. (We both work in schools so we had Monday off.) She said she already had plans to go with one of her friends and invited me to join them. How cool! Despite the cold temperatures... (It was like 8 degrees and with the windchill it was like -6!) we still got out there!
The cold temperatures contributed to me rushing a bit as I put my snowshoes on... which I now regret! As it turns out I tightened my snowshoes over my toes when my toes were close to the front of my boots... and ended up getting 'hikers toe' ... which was super painful! (See photo at bottom of post if you dare! LOL) But... the pain from the toe situation didn't set in until after I had gottten off the trails... so... I really did enjoy this adventure!
Oh.. by the way... depending on your snowshoes.. there MAY be a left and a right snowshoe... the way mine strap on the end of the straps face to the outside of my feet.
After signing in at the kiosk we headed onto the trails! (I was definitely a follower not the leader on this trip!)
The
trails were well marked at all of the intersections, but there were no
trail markers on the trails... no blazes painted on trees... the trails
are pretty wide so they seem pretty obvious. Some of the trails had
been used by snowmobiles so they were pretty packed down... but other
parts of the trail were untouched and we broke trail... (well they did, I
followed!)
This is my neighbor's friend's dog... he did great, he ran and ran and kept circling back to us.
It
was really peaceful... though I am learning that winter sports are
louder than kayaking... the sounds of the boots/microspikes or snowshoes
crunch on the snow... I think it would be hard to sneak up on
wildlife.... especially in a group... but I think, for now, I am most
comfortable having others with me!
It
was so cold... and as I was breathing my glasses fogged up... I tried
to wipe them off but it didn't work well, so I put the glasses in my
pocket... (I have ordered some anti fog wipes and will let you know how
they work!)
This
was one of the places we stopped to check in... and I remember thinking
that my right foot felt like my toes were cold... but I knew we were
going to be off the trails soon and didn't give it much thought... I
just tried to keep my toes moving... turns out that feeling of being
cold was probably because the snowshoe was a bit tight over my right
toes... as my foot was too far forward in my boot... my advice here is
to listen to your body... if your feet don't feel right, take time to
try to figure it out and make some adjustments. (Confession: because I
was with people I didn't know well I didn't want to stop... I had that
fat girl in gym class mentality of not wanting to slow them down and
didn't want to seem like I wasn't good at this snowshoe thing... and
didn't want them to think that I needed to rest... truth is I didn't
really need the rest, but could have used some time to readjust my
feet... now I know... and need to stop worrying about how other people
are viewing my ability/endurance. I am out there, doing this... and
safety first! I must listen to my body! And I would advise looking into
different ways to lace your boots for hiking and for snowshoeing that
may be good for all of us... there is a link to one video I found
helpful at the bottom of the page.)
Our
total mileage was about 3 by the time all was said and done..
Snowshoeing is harder than walking... my quads definitely worked harder
than normal, lifting my feet a bit higher.
Towards
the end we came to a pretty steep hill... we were on the top... and had
to go down.. I was a little nervous... and asked the others if they had
any advise for going down...
They
said keep your feet straight even though you will want to turn
sideways... push your feet in hard to get the snowshoe cleats to dig
in.... and if you fall the snow was soft! Ha!
They
went before me... I let them get ahead of me because I was worried if I
wiped out I may take them both with me... when it was my turn I just
went for it... I slid a little, not gonna lie... but manged to stay
upright and even thought it was fun!
This is looking back up the hill... doesn't look that steep in the pic...
This is an ampitheater built into the hill so you can tell it was a little steep! ha!
This
is a trail system I will definitely return to... I think it is a great
place to practice for us beginners but also a place for those with more
experience because you can choose paths that would add up to a lot of
mileage. I think Gladys would love it here!
Warning:
The picture below is NOT pretty...If you don't like feet... look away!!
(look below the pic for what may be a couple of helpful videos)
This photo is from Saturday... because of the snowshoeing adventure from Monday... Because I am inexperienced with snowshoes I didn't pay close enough attention to how my feet were feeling... I figured that my toes felt a little cold and weird because of how the snowshoes strap to my feet.. well... apparently (now having watched a lot of videos!) I didnt put my snowshoes on correctly... I set my foot on the snowshoe , strapped in my toes then secured my heel... my feet were secure alright... with my right toe very forward in my boot... which led to "hikers toe"... constant 'jamming' of my toe into the front of my boot caused this... it has been REALLY painful.. Friday I was finally able to wear regular shoes for a few hours (I had been wearing my llbean boots to give extra room for my toe!)
I will now put my heel in the snowshoe first then tighten the front straps... also researched some ways to tie my boots to keep my heel in place to prevent this when hiking... Glad I now know what should help... but not sure how this whole losing a toenail thing will play out...sigh...
In my research I found that people who hike have different ways of lacing up their boots to help keep their heels in the back of the boot which helps reduce the risk of 'hikers toe'... this VIDEO is one I saw that I have tried (for very short stretches, like taking Gladys out) and It seems to make feel good/secure... here is an article with some pick of the 'heel lock' lacing technique: https://www.gore-tex.com/blog/how-lace-hiking-boots
This is the video that reminded me most of my snowshoes and after the toe thing makes sense to me.... but this is not necessarily THE right way to put on snowshoes... but it is going to be my new way!
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