Today is finally the day, Weston, after waiting almost two months of winter to get the first ‘real’ snowfall. My Nordic skis have spent an unhappy time in the trunk waiting to get out and schuss. And today, they were free at last–to explore Highland Town Forest, one of the three largest conservation properties in Weston. Am I allowed to XC ski with my strained hamstring? Did I ask? Does anyone care? The answer to all three: no.

For those who don’t know, Weston has around 2000 acres of conservation land with almost 100 miles of trails. Some are a little crazier to ski than others–beginners do best at College Pond and Jericho fire roads (park at Burchard) or Highland, or if you are intermediate, look up Ogilvie Town Forest. Expert fun can be had at Doublet Hill or the Pine Street Forest and lunacy is always available at Cat Rock. I assume one of the sleds there will probably Patrick Maholmes you. By the way, I hadn’t watched American football in about two years and turned on the game last week just as Maholmes’ leg bent in a way not known to physics. I will never watch it again. Yuck.

Anyway, here’s the deal, Weston. Strap on your favorite pair of skis (ones that you don’t mind getting a little scratched up) and hit the woods. There is nothing like the sound of skis over snow, and the sight of your K9 ranger running in front of you, clearly expecting you to know how to stop. Okay, she only did that once before she caught on.

If you are in Highland Forest, you will note two crash marks of a prior skier–that would be me–as I attempted to remove huge branches from the trail without removing my skis. Instead, I managed to remove the dryness from my jacket and get snow in places where no snow should go. Head out now–by the time I had made one loop, a snow shoer had obscured my trail which always makes me a bit CRAZY. So little time for good ski tracks… For a review of Winter Trail Etiquette (and other cool info), check out the Winter Conservation Connections.

Weston Forest & Trail does not groom trails. There will be rocks. There will be flooding. There will be branches and crash sites and inevitably dog poop. And you will have the best time.

Get outside.