Well, we made it back! Wahoo! No truck in the ditch and us having to use the giant conglomerate of tools Jules prepared! Being a Southerner, driving in the snow is not something Jules is incredibly familiar with. Over the last few years with The Barracuda and I, he has gotten pretty good at it however.
Over the past few years, the snow has always come to us. Sometimes in large quantities, sometimes just enough for a couple of runs down the local hill. The only time The Barracuda has been taken up to the snow was so long ago he doesn't really remember. Regardless of how cute the pictures were, he didn't really care all that much either. It was more for Jules and I than anything else. So this time, we wanted to make it about him.
Thankfully, the local Goodwill and Goodwill Outlet (aka The Bins) have been really good to us. We are fully geared up and ready for whatever may come. From Sorel to Salomons, Smartwool and DryFit softshell pants, Patagonia capalene or Jules' Ibex wool jacket, we have gotten everything second hand. Like it or not, the secret to fun in the woods is ultimately decent gear and we don't have the money to buy it off the rack. This is one of the first times I have come home from feet of snow with dry feet and base layers.
So off we trudged, kicking steps through the snow. Our steps went down easily 2-2 1/2 feet coming up to mid thigh on our little man. This was an important part of our trip. Our fiercely independent child needs to learn that sometimes, even though you could probably do it yourself, following in someone else's footsteps can be welcome help.
It is also nice to reinforce the fact that sometimes it takes quite a bit of work to get your big pay off.
Dad is thankful to get off; child wants to go again with his hero. 
4 thoughts:
awesome! Aren't you a cutie with those dreads. Here you on the gear for winter. I am so thankful for the patagonia outlet near here, we plan our shopping around their 40% sales. Even at those prices it isn't near as good as goodwill!
Wow, Smartwool and Ibex at your local Goodwill? Sounds like one of the perks to living in an area with a strong outdoors culture... here in Lewiston Maine I would go into shock if I saw anything like that at a second hand store.
I had the same reaction as "adventure in progress"--you have an awesome Goodwill! I'm lucky to write a lot of gear reviews and get our stuff that way. Like you said, good gear makes a world of difference, especially in cold weather.
We go to Goodwill at least once every 10 days. Sometime we find awesome stuff, sometimes nothing. When we go to The Bins (or Goodwill Outlet) that is where we find a lot of our gear because people aren't willing to pay the prices at Goodwill for it. Goodwill can only have things on their shelves for 2 weeks and then it is sent away regardless of what it is. You have to sort through a lot of crap at The Bins but it is worth it!
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