Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Low Temperature Threshold

My dad, a Neenah, Wisconsin native, recently advised me that ten degrees seemed to him the safe threshold for taking kids outside.

I think we broke that barrier last weekend.

For my husband Mark's birthday, we took a trip up the North Shore for a three-day ski extravaganza. Now, with a six month-old baby, "extravaganza" doesn't have quite the same punch as it used to. Instead of an all-day, all-out, telemarking 50K of back country trails (a bit of an exaggeration), we planned to explore some of the fantastic cross-country ski trails along the North Shore for as long as our son would tolerate the Kelty backpack. About two hours a day. The problem? The temperature.

Our first day in the woods: 5 degrees.

But not to worry. He's an amenable little guy, and while he objects to the half hour of dressing it takes to get stuffed into the backpack like a sardine, he loves it once he's out there.

His outdoor wardrobe, in order of assembly: Red moose long underwear, fleece onesie, fleece sweatshirt, cotton sweater, another pair of fleece pants, snowpants, flannel coat, mittens covered by socks, and on his feet, leather boots, covered by another pair of heavy socks. The secret to keeping his feet warm? Hand warmers inside the socks. On top of all this, once inside the backpack, he's covered with another blanket, and then the whole contraption is covered in Mark's down coat. Is he fashionable? For the North Woods, absolutely.

And we got to try out some of the best cross-country ski trails. Deer Yard for some deep woods traipsing, Pincushion Mountain for some in-town Grand Marais views of Lake Superior, Bally Creek for "old school" single tracks through snow-covered forests, and Sugar Bush to top it off. All hail green wax, hand warmers, and a final day temperature of 22 degrees.

Sunrise over Lake Superior from our room at the Cascade Lodge.

Family photo on our last morning skiing.

3 comments:

  1. Yay! Am I the first to leave a comment on a blog I hope to read frequently? :)

    The photo of you three was adorable. Your fortitude in this weather is amazing.

    Looking forward to reading more!

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  2. And if you see any bears, swing that kelty backpack!!

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  3. I love that you take little Rafi with you! When my nephew was 4 months old my cousin would wrap him up with as many clothes as you list or more, line his stroller in sheep skin and wool and put him on the porch to nap. This was January/February. He was a little napping eskimo!!!

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