Valentine Skiing

Today was the best kind of Valentine: cross country skiing on a sunny day on perfectly groomed trails with Terry, my husband. Skiers around here are always talking about Lapham Peak as if it were a given that everyone goes there, but we never had.

No more of that. Its kettles, moraines and eskers have miles of wooded trails, perfect for Birkebeiner training, with climbs like Asthma Hill and Stairway to Heaven that leave you gasping for air and wondering if you're going to live to get to the top, and downhills like Big Slide that go on and on, making your quads beg for mercy--exactly what we were looking for with two weeks to go before heading up to Cable for Birkie weekend.

The morning sun was bright but low when we got there, and the long shadows of the trees weaving patterns across the snow on either side of the trail kept us smiling and congratulating ourselves on being outside in the woods on a beautiful winter day. Five deer leaped across the trail ahead of us, then stopped at the top of the slope to our left, looking down at us. They seemed magical, and maybe they were wondering if we were real, but a lot of people go to Lapham Peak...more likely they wondered if our presence meant there'd be anything to eat.