What will you do today, that you will be grateful for in six months (or a year)?
It may be one small thing, going for a run, or a workout at the gym, making a better nutrition choice, being mindful, paying attention to your spouse, significant other or kids, making the doctors appointment, connecting with friends, saving instead of spending... whatever it is, pick one thing and do it, just for today.
The Lower Trail is a 16.5 mile rail-trail along the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River.
A Rail Trail, is an old railroad that has been re-purposed as a multi-use trail. In more hospitable weather you can find people walking, running, riding bikes and riding horses along the trail. Since trains require flat, wide, tracks, converted railroads tend to be very easy to hike. Typically, you won't find steep grades or rocky terrain. Rather wide paths of crushed gravel or grass, with gentle slopes are the norm.
On a cold (10°F) Saturday morning in January, we pulled into the Alfarata Station trailhead parking area. This is also the northern terminus of the Lower Trail. There is plenty of parking and a pit toilet, as well as signs and benches. Due to the extremely cold weather and the possibility for snow and ice on the ground, a rail trail made perfect sense, for my second hike of the year.
The only downside, at least with this path, is that there really aren't any side trails for doing loops. Straight out and backs, or point to point is your only option.
There are however, a number of Boy Scout Eagle projects along the path, including benches, beacons, bird houses and educational signage about the history and ecology of the trail. These make the extremely non-technical trail very informative and entertaining.
Trails near water tend to be great for spotting birds and this one never disappoints. We saw ducks, Bluejays, and a woodpecker. I also tagged cardinals and a red tailed hawk on the way home.
Cold weather calls for top notch cold weather gear. The Norwegians have a saying, "there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes." If you spend enough time outside in inclement weather, the truth of this starts to sink in. If you spend a lot of time outside in the winter, you will, no doubt, come to the conclusion that I reached. Namely, just invest in some good gear! Yes, each piece in likely going to set you back at least $150 - $200 (sometimes more). But when you are warm, dry, comfortable, well rested, happy and ready for more fun, you will know that it was money well spent.
I love my The North Face Triclimate. I got it a couple years ago on an end of the season clearance sale.
The North Face make two types of 3-in-1 jackets. One has a fleece liner and one had a synthetic puffy liner. They also feature "zip-in" compatibility. Which means that if you buy one with one type of liner, you can get the other type and swap it out. More layering possibilities, yeah!
Mine is the kind with the synthetic puffy liner, pit zips, powder skirt and storm flap. This thing is a beast and keeps me super warm. Most of the time I just wear the dryvent shell with the pit zips open. When I add a sweatshirt or fleece, I'm usually good down to the 30's. If it's windy, or really cold I'll add the puffy and hood. This is a jacket made for layering and made for adjusting to whatever you're doing outside.
This jacket, along with a couple base layers and mid layers, was a crucial part of keeping me warm on a -20°F day at Valley Forge.
What's your favorite jacket for winter fun?
First of all, the disclaimer. I have not been paid by any company to endorse their snacks. Nor has any company provided me with free snacks to review. (Although, if they would like to, I'm open to considering it!) These are my opinions, based on my experiences actually hiking and backpacking in cold and extremely cold weather.
If you don't know already, you need to eat more when you're outside in cold weather, because your body needs the extra calories to keep you warm. If ever there was a time to throw the restrictive diet out the window, this is it!
Cold weather snacking provides its own challenges because, it's cold. Specifically things to consider, can you open the packaging without taking your gloves off? Will you break a tooth if it freezes? Will it freeze well?
Most packaged snacks come with tear away packaging (like a granola bar, or pretzels). Alternatively, you can repackage them at home into zip lock bags. Depending on how beefy your gloves or mitts are, one might appeal to you more than the other. I personally find that I can tear packages open with my teeth, so that works for me.
The other big consideration is what happens when your snack freezes? For something like a thin chocolate bar, or m&m's, that might not be a big deal. I love chewy style granola bars, but let me tell you, when they freeze, watch out! They will freeze nearly as hard as a rock. You do not want to try to chomp down on that. On the other hand, persistently cold temperatures create some snacking possibilities that you might not otherwise consider. Cheese, for example, typically does not freeze hard. And crackers, even when frozen, are quite good, and not likely to give you dental issues. Also, cake like snacks that might typically squish into mush become a more attractive possibility.
The main work around for the problem of frozen snacks, is to decide what you will want to eat next and store it inside your coat until your next snack break. That will give it time to warm up, and not chill you too much in the process.
So my favorites?
Chocolate and candy, obviously. Especially Reese's peanut butter cups, even frozen they aren't terribly solid, and the protein in the the peanut butter is good for muscle recovery. (Right?)
I also like larabar. They are made with real food, and fruit is usually the primary ingredient. Now, they will freeze solid if it's cold enough. If it's slightly warmer, you get a hard toffee like consistency that might pull a filling out, so I definitely warm these up before eating them. But every flavor is so delicious, and fruit sugars definitely are easier on my stomach if I'm doing a high output activity.
Honey Stinger gels are my top choice if I'm doing a long run in cold weather. They don't freeze solid, they have a ton of carbs for quick energy, they're made from (mostly) honey, and, they have one that's caffeinated. What's not to love?
So hopefully, despite the artic temperatures sweeping the nation, you will find a way to get outside soon, and enjoy some great snacks while you're out there.
