The Gift of Disappointment

This view!  This view was an unexpected gift - a gift given to me by something disappointing.

As any good Weekend Warrior does - I headed out of town last Friday for a much anticipated ski vacation.  My boyfriend and I were excited to try out Stowe - a change from our typical trips to New Hampshire for hiking and skiing.

We looked at the weather and decided we would XC ski on Saturday and do a little downhill on Sunday when it was supposed to warm up about three degrees.

Saturday brought us to the Trapp Family Outdoor Center for our XC ski adventure.  Limited XC ski experience and icy trails kept our adventure short - but it wasn't anything less than exhilarating.  I used to XC ski quite a bit when I was younger, and after enjoying it so much last weekend I look forward to spending more time on XC skis this winter - it's as hard as running, but differently fun.

Sunday morning we decided it was too icy to be worth our while to ski - but we were in Vermont to spend time outside and conditions were still perfect for a tramp through the woods on some snowshoes.  We went back to Trapp Family where we spent several hours checking out the curiosities of the Vermont woods - we saw a deer and beautiful mountain vistas.

All of the hiking, biking, OrangeTheory classes, boxing classes, yoga classes, early morning runs, and every other workout I've done lately paid off - I was able to snowshoe up and down hills at a decent clip (faster than some of my recent hikes according to the GPS watch).  Winter hiking - what a treat!  Face ruddy and mood elevated, I was sad when we decided it was time to wrap up our unexpected adventure.

I was sad to miss out on my ski day - but I'm so happy I experienced the disappointment, it yielded unparalleled rewards.  Oh, and it turns out apres XC ski and apres winter hike are pretty cool, especially when the beer was brewed less than a mile from the trailhead!


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