Saturday, January 26, 2008

Best Snow and Best Gear

It's hard not to notice how excited Katie and I are to be cross-country skiing this season. I've found two components to making the skiing experience the best it can be: good trails and good gear.

Katie and I moved to the Monroe Street neighborhood and the location couldn't be better for us. We are under one mile from the UW Arboretum - which has miles of groomed cross-country ski trails. The numerous routes take you in and out of prairies and woods, over bridges and even under a tunnel. And the snow today was the best we've ever been on. It was very fresh from the three inches or so that we got last night and even a little this morning. It was soft and slick, so today's event was exceptionally enjoyable.

And I just have to admit- I'm a Gear Guy. I subscribe to two magazines, Men's Journal and National Geographic Adventure. When an issue comes in the mail, I'm tearing through to the gear review and features. Knowing this, my brother-in-law (Peter) and father-in-law (Steve) got me some cool gear for Christmas. I'm really becoming a fan of the Under Armour, which you can see as a base layer shirt and beanie on my head. And Mountain Hardwear has been a top brand of performance gear for a few years. Peter got me their Canyon Pant which is perfect for cross-country skiing and hiking. Thanks for the gifts, guys. I'm doing my best to put them to good use.

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