Skiing in Michigan

When I was 17 my sister and I went to a Winter Outdoor trade show in Dayton, Ohio and I walked away with a cross-country ski package. It was an investment that has lasted a lifetime.

Unfortunately, not the skis.

I’m now into my second pair of skis and third pair of boots. Maybe because I fall a lot or because of the rapid changes of cold into a warm basement, etc the bindings and vulnerable stress points have snapped or cracked. Thus, I’ve had to update that original pair from almost 50 years ago.

Lately, though it’s been hard to get on the track. Maybe it’s old age or climate change, but there hasn’t been the opportunity. Until I moved to Michigan.

Once the snow started falling and stayed on the ground I’ve been cross-country skiing instead of running. First, I had to remember exactly how it was done.

Just getting into those flimsy clapboards and having them stick to my new boots was a renewed learning curve. As a co-worker once remarked: it’s the sport where you can’t stop. Yes and no. Mostly you don’t need to know because the terrain is usually flat—compared to downhill skiing. Nevertheless, I did a fair bit of falling as I tried to revive muscle memory.

I’ve been skiing at the Harris Nature Center off of Van Atta Road. I love this place and it’s so close. In the fall I rode my bike here to walk in the woods by Red Cedar Creek. Turns out the trails are perfect for cross-country skiing.

I step into the bindings and begin to schush into the woods where the snowfall creates an other worldly hush. The snow takes on a bluish tint from the sun low on the horizon. It is just me accompanied by my steady breathing, up and down, next to the frozen stream, following the ridgeline, beneath creaking boughs that occasionally drop gobs of snow.

We all know of the healing power of nature. Brain studies have proven that just getting outside helps to reduce stress. Maybe it’s simply a change in scenery or the bigger picture. I suddenly can feel the immensity of the universe and that in the scheme of things whatever it is that is bothering is miniscule.

After a ski or walk in the woods, I can usually come back to my writing and go on to the next paragraph with a clearer mind, a fresh aspect for the problems ahead.