In Our Backyard
Winter is here and it’s no time to hibernate. Get out there!
Staying inside often means breathing in too much bad indoor air, gaining weight and getting the winter blues and bugs. Exercising inside the gym is great for strength training but exercising outside during a New England winter really stiffens the backbone!
That’s why one of my favorite winter scenes is a cross country ski trail with spruce and fir trees cloaked in a fresh dusting of snow. It’s beautiful, and it beckons the adventurous soul and winter-bound body.
Here in Maine we have a wonderful year-round outdoor playground (usually free of charge) for fun and exercise. Winter activities, such as cross country skiing, snow shoeing or simply walking briskly in the cold, crisp air, are fairly inexpensive and easy on the joints. Outdoor exercise also helps increase metabolism rates to fight weight gain and endorphin (brain chemical) levels to help keep us peppy and free of the winter blues. (Although my favorite reason for outdoor winter exercise is the smug feeling of earning that post workout lounge around the wood stove with a cup of hot chai tea!)
So where to go and what to do?
If there’s no convenient woods road or nearby snowmobile trail (always check with the landowner about access), check out some of Maine’s State Parks. There are extensive trail systems at Bradbury Mountain in southern Maine, Camden Hills and Acadia National Park on the coast, Mount Blue State Park in the western mountains and, up north, at Aroostook State Park and Baxter State Park (where winter trips require proof of experience and registration). For more information on cross skiing centers in Maine, including the two world class centers in Aroostook County, go to http://www:.mainewsc.org
When venturing out during your winter wanderings dress in layers and choose clothes, especially your windproof outer layer that vents or breathes to manage moisture (sweat). Protect exposed, skin, from the wind and drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration in the cold dry winter air. Also, don’t forget that old adage, cotton kills: dress in wool or synthetics (made of recycled plastics!) that don’t retain moisture.
One more thing. It’s really important to be able to recognize the symptoms of hypothermia (uncontrolled shivering, drowsiness, slurred speech, numbness) and understand the concepts of wind chill. When exercising in the cold, the risk of hypothermia is usually greatest when you stop and don’t have access to warm dry shelter or dry clothes.
Along with winter clothing, footwear is much improved as well, such as the new lightweight but warm boots designed for snowshoeing and winter running shoes with spikes that grip those patches of ice and snow, but push back up into the sole when you hit pavement again.
Stay healthy this winter and get outside and exercise to keep the blues and the bugs at bay!
This column was submitted by David McCaskill, an environmental engineer with the Maine DEP’s Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management. In Our Back Yard is a column of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. E-mail your environmental questions to infodep@maine.gov or send them to In Our Back Yard, Maine DEP, 17 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333.