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Snowshoeing As The Destination ~ by Sebastian Cancino

I was born in Punta Arenas, Chile. It’s so far south, it’s considered part of the Antarctic District of Chile. Naturally, its winters are bitterly cold. I grew up in North Texas, however: the land of the fickle winter. We are accustomed to t-shirts on New Year’s Eve and parkas on New Year’s Day. One full inch of snow or a ¼ inch of ice on the roads sends society into an apocalyptic downward spiral. Now, living on California’s southern coast, I am in the land of the non-winter. But, I knew moving west meant weekends spent in the mountains chasing snow.

I’ve never been inclined to ski or snowboard. I went once in high school as part of our band spring trip (yes, I am a proud former band member/nerd), and I remember being more sore afterwards in more muscle groups I didn’t know existed than any at other occasion in my life. I haven’t the need for speed, nor have I developed it since sophomore year.

As an avid hiker and backpacker, I try to spend at least two nights on the trail and average about 60 miles of hiking per month. So, once I moved to California, I knew I needed to find a fourth-season mode of transportation. Naturally, snowshoeing seemed like the way to go. I didn’t, however, expect the haters.

I encountered some very strong feelings regarding snowshoeing:

“Snowshoeing is good for getting to a backcountry ski/boarding area or for mountaineering only.”

“You actually BOUGHT snowshoes and WANT to go on a trip to SNOWSHOE…?”

“Snowshoeing sucks. A lot.”

Had I made a mistake? Were the beautiful MSR snowshoes my partner bought me the year before doomed to collect dust in my gear closet? Would I be destined to spend the winter lusting after powder from afar?

Nah. Nothing that dramatic. I chose to ignore the peanut gallery, and see for myself. I planned a three day snowshoeing trip to Mammoth Lakes to explore the front country trails in one of the most beautiful portions of the Eastern Sierra.

I camped at the Mammoth Mountain RV Park on the east side of the small community (this place has hot showers, clean restrooms, and reliable WiFi; I highly recommend it for a more DIY lodging option). I had three days to myself to explore the area. Here are some of the highlights:

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Sunrise on the Eastern Sierra from Tuttle Creek Campground: my new favorite base camp for trips up the 395. A great place to layover (only $5/night) if you’re driving from southern California to the Sierras and don’t mind composting toilets.

Day 1: the Inyo Craters off of the Mammoth Scenic Loop. The craters are located off of the snowmobile tracks that are established in the national forest. The tracks are open for hikers, cross-country skiers, and snowshoers. I was able to hoof it to the craters and return via the Blue Diamond trail. The signage is very old and unreadable in certain spots, so take a map, compass, and GPS if you plan on going off trail or along unmarked paths. The road was passable for the first ½ mile or so, but the snow got deep quickly and made turning around very difficult. Park off the paved road and walk in.

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Day 2: I set out for the Lake Mary Loop. Tamarack Lodge and XC Ski Center sells passes, rents gear, and teaches lessons for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. If you have your own snowshoes, you can park at the gate to Lake Mary Road and snowshoe on the left side of the road for free! No passes required.

This was a great option for all-day exploration of the front country. I was one of only two snowshoers out that day. It was a Wednesday, but cross-country skiers were out in droves. It wasn’t crowded at all on the left side of the road.

The view of Mammoth’s craggy horizon from Panorama Dome. This is a super easy hike/snowshoe to the top of a rock dome. The view was phenomenal. This is the first of many destinations along the namesake Mammoth Lakes loop.

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I stopped for lunch and a cup of hot tea on the frost shore of Lake George. I had this little spot to myself for almost an hour. It was a beautiful place to rest.

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Look out for the “Hole in the Wall” above Lower Twin Lake – a popular backcountry ski spot for experts only.

 

I coerced a very nice family into taking my picture. I was proud of myself for snowshoeing 10 miles!

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Day 3: I returned to the snowmobile area off of Mammoth Scenic Loop for another loop through the forest. Here is a view of Mammoth Mountain looming over the pines below. The trail was well groomed, but snowshoes definitely gave me better purchase on the icy stuff.

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I ventured off trail a bit after having gained some much-needed confidence. As you can see from my tracks below, the snow was pretty deep in some places. It was fun bounding down slopes of powdery snow! (Sorry for the selfies. It’s hard to get good photos of yourself adventuring when you go out solo as often as I do).

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The verdict: snowshoeing is awesome! It does not suck!

Snowshoeing is a great way to get yourself, your friends, and family out in the snow for exercise, animal watching, and fun. It’s easy to learn and can be inexpensive if you rent gear or buy second-hand shoes and poles.

It’s so exciting to have a new way to travel in winter. I feel like a whole world I never knew has been opened up to me. It sounds cheesy, and it is. But, for this boy from the plains of Texas, it’s gold.

I’ll see you on the snow!

Sebastian Cancino lives and plays in Ventura, California. If he’s not working the sales floor at Patagonia’s retail store in Ventura, he’s backpacking the local wilderness areas in Los Padres National Forest and beyond. He plans to hike the John Muir Trail summer 2016.

Follow his adventures on Instagram: @panchitowalker

#Cuauhtémocing: How A Soccer Legend Activated the Adventurous Explorer in Me – Michelle Piñon

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If I’ve appeared naturally suave and adventurous, I’ve misled you. Any semblance of social grace has been years in the making for this Piñon. Actually, any of form of “grace” comes unnaturally to me. Including the kind where I don’t trip over my own skis and slide headfirst intro a row of unsuspecting skiers…which happened to me three weeks ago. So yeah… I’m not suave.

 

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Those who know me well know that I’m hopelessly awkward. Actually, anybody who knows me …

 

And soccer players…they’re about as un-Michelle like as you can be. Those folks are everything I’ve ever striven to be. During my lanky awkward youth, I idolized  futbolistas. Because, frankly, I just didn’t understand how.

Como es possible moverse con tanta agilidad? Did he just do that with his feet? How..what…no mames!

Naturally, as a prepubescent girl, siempre me enamoraba de los futbolistas. Chances are if you played in soccer in high school, I had a massive crush you. (I might still have a crush on you, who knows…) And, also because I was a prepubescent girl, I was immensely self-conscious. So, I ended up admiring such feats of agility (and attractiveness) from afar. Even as I pined for soccer players, I have always shied away from the game itself. Soccer demands intense finesse and coordination and I often miss my mouth when I eat.

 

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Am I falling or messing around? The world will never know.

 

When it comes to soccer gods I idolized growing up,  Cuauhtémoc Blanco reigned supreme (sorry Chivas fans). Para los que no lo conocen, Blanco played most of his career with América and invented Cuauhtemiña, which remains one of the sickest soccer moves you’ll ever see.  Blanco was well known for the poses he would strike after sinking in goals. He was well known for this gem in particular –

 

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I encountered this pose a lot growing up and distinctly remember watching folks in high school imitate Cuauhtémoc whenever they were out on the field. The pose meant something special to me then. It was a moment of Mexican pride, it was a celebration of finesse, it was accomplishment embodied. I craved something like that for myself. That’s where #Cuauhtémocing comes in for me.

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#Cuauhtémocing at Rainier

#Cuauhtémocing is for those rare moments when I’m trekkin’ like a fearless mountain goat.  The mountains change you – for me, they challenged me to think of myself less as a awkward lump and more as a adventurous explorer. Going outside, spending summers frolicking in national parks, made my life better because I became less self-conscious.  Now, I worry so much less about my weight, my inherited lack of grace and physical imperfections –there’s no time for that when you’re outside feeling strong.

 

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#Cuauhtémocing at Crater Lake National Park…with some birthday balloons that floated into the forest.

 

The #Cuauhtémocing poses I strike against majestic backdrops pay homage to my transformation over the last couple years. It’s been slow going, yes, but I’ve nonetheless moved away from my insecurities (thinking that I was hopelessly awkward and clumsy) to reinventing myself as a bold adventuress.

So yeah…if on occasion I do seem suave and adventurous, please know that it’s been years in the making.

 

 

Here’s some of my friends #Cuahtémocing with me

 

 

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Michelle Piñon is Latino Outdoors’ Regional Coordinator for the Pacific Northwest. Outside of Latino Outdoors, Michelle is also the Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator for Puget Soundkeeper and a Natural Leader. Michelle spends the vast majority of her time either outside or plotting how to be outside. She also loves Justin Bieber in a non-ironic way.

Latino Outdoors Interview: A Conversation with Jessica Gonzalez

 

We always love profiling our leaders in the movement and in the field. Here is another interview in our series to showcase the individuals that embody the Latino Outdoors story, ambicultural leadership in action. Here is Jessica Gonzalez, a National Park Service program director in New York. 

Tell us your story, what is your connection to the land and conservation?

I grew up in Brooklyn, not exactly a spot known for its purple mountains majesty.  Growing up, my connection to nature was emphasized by my parents. My parents took messages to heart like “Recycle today for a better tomorrow”, and made sure to tell all guests at our house and even family and friends when we weren’t at home.  Although NYC is thought of as a concrete jungle, that’s not the reality. South Brooklyn is very green and I have been lucky enough to live on land that was previously farmland until the 1920s.  I’ve explored the waterways of Brooklyn in my kayak and used my bike to explore on land.  The dichotomy of living in a city with intense pollution in some locations and dirt so clean you can grow vegetables in it makes one aware of the value of clean land and the impact of humans.

We also had a house in the woods in Pennsylvania where we would just wander through the woods, see wildlife up close, and stargaze with a telescope off our deck. We explored nature because we could, and because we saw the value of interacting with a natural environment.

How is this connection celebrated in your community and culture—in the broader conservation community?

Gateway is lucky to have so many partner groups engage the park in an effort to connect their community members to nature.  Casual exploration is one of the best ways people encounter nature, especially in a big city. Nature doesn’t always have to meet a 6 hour trip to mountains, followed by camping without electricity and hot water.  So often people don’t enter a green area or walk up to an activity because they assume it’s not for them.  Through the Your Park! Your Health! program we invite new visitors, we seek out communities that may know know of our park programs or how they can participate. Your Park! Your Health teaches these new visitors skills they can take with them to other outdoor adventures and connect underserved communities to other wonderful park programs such as kayaking or camping.

We see huge numbers of youth volunteering to help protect, preserve and clean up natural areas. The desire for conservation is there, and people should understand that even little steps like recycling matter.

Latino/a identities are connected to the outdoors, the environment, and conservation—how are those words reflective of YOU, how is it expressed, what does it look like? 

Growing up, we explored, simply because we could.

Latino Identities are connected to the outdoors because they are surrounded by la naturaleza. I spent time in El Salvador and saw how integrated the villagers were with their natural surroundings, and it was the same interactions you see with all kids who live near open fields and hills and streams.

Connections to the outdoors to me look like families and individuals safely exploring, learning, appreciating the outdoors, but more importantly coming back, and maybe one day either working in their public lands, or working to protect them.

These words reflect my life because I remember all my life in my visits to my family in Puerto Rico hiking through the jungle, walking out of the house to pick fruit right off the tree, and how we were just surrounded by nature. Nature wasn’t something we had to travel to see, it wasn’t separated from every-day life.

While some us us (me included) may not have grown up camping in a tent, because as my parents said “ why should I sleep in a tent when I could sleep in a bed” it is becoming easier to learn outdoor skills. There is the assumption at times that we wouldn’t be interested in outdoor activities. Luckily I find that this is not a majority opinion and that Latinos are learning about outdoor opportunities through friends, family and the power of social media to de-stigmatize the perceived difficulty of outdoor activities.

What needs to change and how do we grow, celebrate, and have the broader conservation movement connect with the role and values Latinos bring to the field?

Latinos have had a connection to conservation since the beginning of the National Park Service. George Melendez Wright was a Latino of El Salvadorian descent and conducted the first survey of fauna for the National Park Service  In order to grow,  Latinos need to be allowed to leave the boxes they’ve been put in, which is to only work on “Latino” issues and to have a seat at the table for discussions over engagement, conservation, recruitment and retention. These are issues that affect all populations.

To truly move conservation, both natural and historical, into the 21st century we need to modernize. There is a great benefit from having access to institutional knowledge, but we need to continue modernizing our processes and reaching out to new audiences. Local communities should be involved in the conservation movement, and in those instances where agencies, communities and other interested parties have come together for discussions have resulted in more success due to the collaborative nature of the process.

Why does this issue and work matter to you?

As a Latina who had exposure to nature early on, I feel the need to help connect new and existing communities to the nature that surrounds them. I work in an urban park and I’m still surprised when kids or even adults are experiencing nature for the first time, without being behind glass.  A special joy is experienced when a visitor is taught about the world they live in and can bring those lessons home when they leave the park.

The Your Park! Your Health! team, based out of New York City leads a kayaking every other Tuesday night in the park. The audiences we serve are very diverse.  They are from different cultural backgrounds and with different life experiences. We are still amazed that we have to invite passers-by to kayaking. There is still the assumption that a recreational activity is not for them and possibly only available to people with money. There are countless studies that laud the benefits of exposure to natural environments. By increasing stewardship we ensure that new generations who support their public lands.

What does success in all this look like to you?

Support for our public lands is essential for everyone. Existing communities benefit from community involvement because many voices are more powerful than one. Good ideas come from many places and the conservation movement benefits from more people of all backgrounds participating.

How is your work with NPS reflective of all this?

My park, Gateway National Recreation Area,  has connected to the diverse communities surrounding New York City through the program Your Park! Your Health! (formerly Tu Parque! Tu Salud!). Every summer we bring a team of interns from the surrounding communities into the park to learn about the programs and activities that are available to the public and then host these same programs like Kayaking and camping for friends, family and the public and introduce them to the activities right in their backyard.

Last year we joined the movement to #optoutside the day after Thanksgiving and we’re happy to be hosting Latino Outdoors outside on a cool hike.  The year 2016 marks the 100th birthday of the National Park Service and we hope to continue helping all communities to #findtheirpark or #encuentratuparque.

One phrase we heard constantly is that people didn’t know these activities and spaces were open and available to them. It takes more than just showing up, sometimes it means holding out that hand and becoming a trusted ambassador for the park.

Jessica Gonzalez

 

Jessica Gonzalez is the Program Director of the “Your Park! Your Health!” program at Gateway National Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service.