Winter Bucket List

The vast majority of kids who grow up in this climate love snow days. I include my younger self in that statement. As a kid, there was nothing better than waking up to a glistening blanket of white on the ground and my school’s name scrolling across the bottom of the morning news “CANCELLED”. Mom bundled us up ala Ralphie’s little brother and out into the snow we went. When we couldn’t feel our fingers and toes we knew it was time to go in. Mom was ready with the Swiss Miss and mini marshmallows to perfectly finish off the experience.  

Somewhere along the way I became a cold weather curmudgeon. I despised the first signs of flurries and complained about being cold from October to April. Winter was “no fun” except for staying inside to read and eat soup.

With my own children, I would take them out in the snow only if they really, really, really wanted to go. I’d make sure that we had the necessary gear sorted out and (mostly) the right size for the new season. However, as we have embarked on our Trail Family journey and I’ve been involved in the #150hoursoutside project, my whole winter paradigm has changed. I’m actually excited about this coming winter. I DON’T hate winter; I just don’t fancy being cold.

So here is my Winter Bucket List for the 2020-21 season

Go Snowshoeing: We will need a significant snowfall for this one to become a reality so I’m hoping that we have some good coverage this year. It’s very strange that I would be wishing for snow, but here we are.

Family Winter Hike: I’d love to take a whole family hike on one of the rail trails on a nice winter day. The trail looks so different when the leaves are off the trees. You’d be surprised by the changes and the things you notice when you can see through the trees.

Cross Country Skiing: I’m not likely to ever go downhill skiing, but I think I can handle cross country. One of my friends knows a local place that rents the skis and has a trail to take them on. This one will probably be a trip without kids, but I’ll see if they have youth sizes.

Complete Our 300 Hours Outside Before the End of 2020: Back in January we set the goal to spend a total of 300 hours outside for the calendar year. This goal came about because we did the #150hoursoutside project in 2019. We decided to double our goal for this year. It will probably be a squeaker, but we’ll make it!

What activities are on your winter bucket list? Let me know in the comments what you are looking forward to for this season.

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