Trekking through the great outdoors
Local snowshoers explore Truro’s very own winter wonderland
TRURO, N.S. — The steady crunching of snowshoes echoed through Victoria Park’s crisp air as a small group of local athletes made their way through the forests around Truro.
“I love it, it’s great company, it’s invigorating, out in the fresh air and it’s a fun thing to do,” said coach Maura Hunter. “We have winter. Let’s embrace it. It makes the winter shorter when you go out and have a lot of fun.”
The local Special Olympics athletes took Hunter’s message to heart. Some used hiking poles to navigate the twisting paths through pine forests, before breaking into a run once they reached a wide and sunny clearing.
Indeed, snowshoe racing is a sport, and Saturday’s excursion was a chance for the athletes to practise techniques, while maintaining their overall fitness on Victoria Park’s trails.
However, the primary goal of the Special Olympics is promoting a healthy lifestyle for athletes and their supporters.
“We want to include as many people as we can, so if you’ve got any sort of a different ability it doesn’t matter,” said Hunter. “People with autism, with Down syndrome, or just delays are more than welcome – and we welcome everybody else, because we want to include socialization as one of the objectives.”
For some of the people in Victoria Park, snowshoeing was simply a way to start living again.
Catherine Macneven survived tongue cancer some years back and has since regained her health, walking the trails with everyone else, joined by her son, Richard.
When asked how snowshoeing made her feel, she replied, “Happy. Happy.”
“I had a sore tongue and they ended up removing it and I’m impaired now in speaking but I still go out, I do things… I work,” said Macneven.
Meantime, snowshoeing allowed other athletes like Brookfield’s Montana Wright to appreciate life’s simpler pleasures.
She enjoyed “seeing the outdoors and going outside in the snow, seeing the pretty stuff.”
When not on the snow, Wright plays baseball, basketball and soccer and also swims.
The snowshoe group comes to Victoria Park every Saturday morning for practice walks. They leave at 10 a.m. from the Truro Junior High School’s parking lot.