We've got skis

Today Noelle and I finally had the time to head over to the local ski shop and pick up some waxless, XC classical skis! The damage was a bit pricey, but I think it will be worth it in that it will give us more excuses to get outside and exercise on the cold Duluth days.

After our purchase we were just itching to get out and use our new toys. We decided to head over to Boulder Lake where they have some "easy trails" as the saleswoman at the ski shop told us. We made the drive to Boulder Lake, passed a parking lot crowded with cars, and pulled into a trailhead parking lot that was completely deserted. I thought that this would be a good thing since there would be no one around to see us as we fell and generally made ourselves look like complete greenhorns.


Since there was no standard signage system informing us of the difficulty of the trails we simply headed out and almost immediately down a steep hill. No problem though, as there was no sharp turn at the bottom of that first hill. However, as we skied further in along the trail the downhills got steeper and each one offered what seemed like a 180 degree turn at the bottom. Needless to say a lot of falling was done. Luckily the trail (called the Rolling Pin) was short.

After our experience on the Rolling Pin we headed to the other trailhead and gave skiing another whirl. The trail we skiied was much easier and no falling was done. I think we figured out why everyone was parked at this trailhead. Lesson learned.