North Country Trail Association Chapter, Regional Science Center to host Winter Trails Day
Learn to snowshoe, skishoe event
All area outdoors enthusiasts are invited to attend the Second Annual Winter Trails Day – Learn to Snowshoe/Skishoe event at M.B. Johnson Park in Moorhead on Saturday, February 23 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This free event is sponsored by the Dakota Prairie Chapter of the North Country Trail Association, Moorhead Parks & Recreation Department, NDSU’s Natural Resource Management Club, and the MSUM Regional Science Center.
According to Rennae Gruchalla, event organizer for the Dakota Prairie Chapter, “The purpose of the event is to “help people better appreciate winter’s beauty through the healthy activities of snowshoeing and skishoeing.” Snowshoes allow people to walk in deep snow without sinking all the way to the bottom. Modern snowshoes are lightweight and feature crampons and easy to adjust bindings. Skishoes are a hybrid between XC skis and snowshoes and provide some of the flotation of snowshoes with the glide of XC skis. “The skishoes are really fun to use on a single track Trail like the North Country Trail” says Gruchalla.
Mini-clinics covering how-to info for snowshoes and skishoes will be offered at 10 a.m., noon, and 2 p.m. as will short group skishoe/snowshoe tours at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
The North Country Trail Association is a volunteer-based non-profit organization whose mission is to build, maintain, promote, and protect the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT). The NCT stretches 4,600-miles from Lake Sakakawea State Park to Crown Point State Historic Site in NY. The Fargo-Moorhead based Dakota Prairie Chapter is responsible for the NCT between Fort Abercrombie and the Sheyenne State Forest near Fort Ransom. They host regular guided hikes, trail workdays, and fun events year round. People can learn more about the NCT and NCTA at northcountrytrail.org and can learn more about the Chapter at northcountrytrail.org/dpc. Check out their events at www.facebook.com/NCTinND or www.meetup.com/Red-River-Valley-Outdoors/.
The event is free and open to the public. People should check www.facebook.com/NCTinND for any weather related updates.