It’s ironic that I first drafted this post in February 2021, as I was feeling completely deflated by the ever-extending lockdown, and here we are 12 months later, finding ourselves back in a lockdown once more.

One thing I learned in the past couple years is I absolutely need to get outside every day, even when it’s the dead of winter and minus-stupid degrees.

The solace that keeps my spirits up during winter is weekend adventures out in the snow. Last year, I fell in love with snowshoeing and lost myself for hours stomping through beautiful, powdery snow covered trails all over Ontario. Nothing clears and calms my mind like cool crisp air and a forest covered in a blanket of snow.

This same month in 2020 (pre-pandemic), I took a trip up north to Arrowhead, a provincial park in the Muskoka area. It’s a beautiful spot of Canadian forest that boasts a special ice skating trail lit up with fire torches in the winter months. It was a gorgeous day that had a bright blue sky and the sun shining albiet being minus 15.

Who knows when the current Covid wave will subside but I know I can’t wait to explore some more wintery trails this month and make the most of this bitterly-beautiful season.