I have always seen snow as some sort of enemy and it’s easy to see why. Snow is something to be shoveled and plowed out of the way. It shuts down schools and offices and closes trails and roads. Spending too much time in it without proper clothing and you risk chilblains, frostnip, frostbite, and hypothermia. Snow, in a sense, has gotten the bad rap of being an inconvenience, and a dangerous one at that.
But since arriving in New Hampshire I have begun to understand that snow is perhaps not the boogie man I have been led to believe it is. I still spend a lot of time plowing and shoveling snow out of the way, but I have been spending more and more time exploring the snow covered mountains and forests around Squam. The blue and white sparkle of snow in morning sunlight and the curiosity of finding fresh tracks across the snow gives my hikes another dimension of interest. Moreover, since buying new winter hiking boots and warmer gloves, rather than questioning the fate of my appendages, I have been able to delight in tromping and sliding through winter wonderland scenes.
This change I am seeing in myself is of course beneficial to my wellbeing since much of what we do at the Squam Lakes Association involves being outdoors, and therefore in the snow. But there is a deeper meaning behind my changing attitude towards snow.
Above all other ways to define oneself, I consider myself a backpacker first and foremost. Hiking long distances is in my blood in the way that one might feel about their hometown or life dreams. I cannot help but to look at a map and imagine what it would be like to walk from point A to B, to cross hundreds to thousands of miles, to see what I would find on a 2 foot wide wiggling route across the land. But the trouble is, you can only go so high into the mountains or so late into winter before you begin to see snow. And with snow has always come the rush of anxiety and frustration that I have clung onto since childhood. Not only am I beginning to see the good side of snow, I am also growing to see myself as capable of dealing with it. This newfound and growing confidence opens new doors to paths yet unexplored. There is so much more time and so many more mountains available to one who is willing to cross snowy terrain.
Perhaps I will never reach the level of my snowboarding housemates/ fellow members who delight in fresh “pow” in a way that still boggles my mind- but slowly I see myself changing into a Northerner. Snow is no longer my enemy- and maybe by the end of the winter (or perhaps once Summer heat and bugs strike) I’ll even call snow a friend.
Kaela is the Squam Lakes Association’s connoisseur of all things cats and cat-related. For example, talk to Kaela if you want to know about a music artist who makes remixes using internet famous cat audio clips. Learn more about Kaela here!