Silly Question About Snow

[AngryGuy]

Hi All,
I have some experience at this, over a decade now with my son with usually 10 taps and whatever version of an evaporator I'm playing with this year. What's outside of my experience is the massive amount of snow. I'm in between the 8 feet in Boston and 5 or 6 feet Providence is calling their total. That's far out of the ordinary here. On top of that I'm 5 weeks out from a hip replacement and while I could probably slog through this snow on a normal season I can't this year. That makes me sound do old. I broke it as a kid and I'm only 45, not 80. Just had to say that.

My question is how do you guys further north deal with snow too deep to efficiently walk through? Not only am I looking for practical ideas but I'm also just curious. I do have my son to help some. When we started this he was a 5 year old too cute to say no to after taking him to a sugarhouse in Vermont. That's how we got started. Now he's a 6'1" 270 lb freshman nose tackle who is so busy with school and friends and sports that I'm looking at doing the bulk myself this year.

Half of my trees are not my trees but on neighbors property. We give them a pint or two for the use of their trees but most are in a swampy wooded area I can't get my snowblower into. Anyway, I'm thinking snow shoes until the snow melts. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Sorry if I ramble. Not working means more time to drink way too much coffee.:D

[Sugarmaker]

Sounds like you need to dial back a little this year. Get that strapping young man and several of his friends to step it up a notch for dad this year. Would be a good work out for them too. You stay in the sugar house till it thaws and you can get around better.
Regards,
Chris

[Biz]

We gather a couple dozen buckets in the woods using snow shoes and a sap yoke :)

Dave

[BAP]

There is NO silly questions? We use snowshoes when the snow gets too deep to walk threw easily. However, with your bad hip, you probably could not use them as they put a lot of strain on your legs and hips because of the added weight. Because the snow is that deep, in my experience, sap will not run much until it has melted down to a shallow depth. I agree with Sugarmaker, get your son and some friends to do the heavy work wading around in the deep snow.

[BreezyHill]

I just got in a new pair of snow shoes off ebay for $35.00 brand new...9"x30" they weight in at just over a pound for the pair with aluminum frames and plastic pack area. They are awesome...I got to wear them one time and the two sons at home race to use them. Youngest usually has them the last few days and loves packing down tracks to the trees. We are still drawing laterial lines for a 450 tap expansion that is maybe 1/4 done as of dusk last night. The snow is so deep I have a 24" rope tied to an empty soda bottle on the tubing tool. I dropped it once and it took about five minutes to dig it out. The soda bottle stays near the top of the snow if I set it down and it drops in.

What we do to get the friends to help is to feed them first then hit the farm job and have plenty of snacks and drinks...they are mostly soccer or basketball kids so soda is out but you can by Gatorade powder cheap and they like that. Plus the extra sugar keeps them working hard.

One boy doesn't have the best home life and he loves to put up hay, tap, get wood, feed cows, anything at all so that he can come and just stay at the farm. I think he would move in if given the choice. Lives in the village and "there is nothing to do all day long."

I can only remember once in the early 1970's as a kid seeing snow like this. Honestly if I had to do buckets I would be packing paths to the trees on warm days and praying it would freeze into a nice base. We have packed the bush trails for the last two weeks with snowmachines and it is still not easy to walk on as we have not had a good warmup to melt the top some.

I tell the kids in the 4-H club: "No stupid questions...just stupid answers." LOL

The only stupid question, is the one that was not asked.

We have all been there...and many will be there again, if we are lucky enough to live that long.

Take care of that hip and I feel for you...broke my leg a few years back...first 12 months sucked good for about 10 months then back to sucking again. For the last 6 it has been really good...I'm 49 in a week.

Its not how old you are but the stuff we have lived thru that makes us wiser and seem old; and honestly feel like we are 80. LOL

Ben

[TerryEspo]

I want and need those snowshoes Ben, lol. Been using my Doo to pack trails around trees and got hung up today on a stump, knew it was around so I was going very slow, it still got me. 10871

Maybe a 4" stump got jammed right in the middle of my A-Arm, dug around and flipped machine sideways to get it out.

Dug snow about 20" down and nowhere near the base of the stump/ ground, will cut it later and measure it.10872

Snowshoes are looking better each day, lol !!

[Russell Lampron]

I use snowshoes to get around in this deep snow. I've got a pair of Tubbs and they have held up to the abuse of being carried on the 4 wheeler and walking over stumps and stuff well.

I agree with Chris and Ben, have your son bring some of his football friends over to help out. They may like the sugaring process and get bitten by the bug too.

[AngryGuy]

Thank you all, this is probably the nicest forum I've ever been on. I'm seriously thinking about the snowshoes. I have to see my surgeon this week and see what he thinks. He's usually an advocate of activity but maybe not carrying buckets on snow shoes. Modern hip replacements take full weight immediately after surgery. It's all the stuff they cut through to get to it that causes problems. There are a few restrictions for six weeks or so to keep you from levering the socket part out of your pelvis but for the most part you can do what you tolerate.

Here in RI I've had seasons over by this time but with this freeze and blizzards and such it's been delayed. What I'm really afraid of it being a really short window to get anything done. It's not like it's a cash crop for me and I don't depend on few gallons of syrup for anything but I'd really miss not doing it.

[Zucker Lager]

Hey Angry Guy
Here in Sugar Camp Wisconsin we had just about 11 feet of snow last year and are close to meeting that again this year. Sappers with money use a snowmachine with a trailer or a rack on the back but poor guys like me with only a few trees to tap use snowshoes and an otter sled. With only a few trees one trick is to go out and beat down the trail a few times with your snow shoes a few times before the season begins then the trails are easier to travel on once your carrying sap. Jay

[maple flats]

My snowmobile would not go today, kept getting stuck. Then we had to walk in on snowshoes. At 68 it sure did tire me. With the snowshoes we only sunk in 3-8" in most places. One of my helpers said he would go at it without snowshoes, He took one off and was going to remove the other, but we had to pull him back up. The foot without went down about 3' with the other at 3". He then put the snowshoe back on. Doing it all on snowshoes sure does take about 2x as long as walking on 6-8" of snow and just wearing our boots. We had to lift some of the mains a little but most were still above the snow. It looks like we have about 3-3.5' on the level. I'm hoping by next Sat. the snowmobile can go over it, that sure is faster.

[harrison6jd]

if you get in a jam and cant get the sap, let me know and i will get you some. im in the northern part of the state.


Thank you all, this is probably the nicest forum I've ever been on. I'm seriously thinking about the snowshoes. I have to see my surgeon this week and see what he thinks. He's usually an advocate of activity but maybe not carrying buckets on snow shoes. Modern hip replacements take full weight immediately after surgery. It's all the stuff they cut through to get to it that causes problems. There are a few restrictions for six weeks or so to keep you from levering the socket part out of your pelvis but for the most part you can do what you tolerate.

Here in RI I've had seasons over by this time but with this freeze and blizzards and such it's been delayed. What I'm really afraid of it being a really short window to get anything done. It's not like it's a cash crop for me and I don't depend on few gallons of syrup for anything but I'd really miss not doing it.

[PACMAN]

Angryguy,you look like a bigger man. I'm in the same boat as you I have six hurniated disks in my back. I have been using tubbs snowshoes and they dont work for bigger guys. I'm at 240 then dress in coveralls and pac boots and all the stuff we carry in the bush and your looking at close to 300 pounds. I am ordering my new shoes from Main guide shoes,check them out. I'm getting the Alaskans.

[Cedar Eater]

If you get some trailblazers to walk the trails in front of you, it helps a lot, especially if they are wearing snowshoes. After two people have passed over the trail, it becomes much easier for future travel. If you're considering snowshoes, you want to get the kind that match the snow and the terrain you will be walking on. Long narrow shoes are better for some snow and wide round shoes are better for other snow. The amount of upward curve in the front is also important.

[3GoatHill]

I never used snowshoes before but I am considering them. I understand the concept of how they work, but do they put extra weight on your hips?

[Cedar Eater]

They're a lot better than postholing in the snow, but they do put a little more wear and tear on the hip joints and thigh muscles.

[Aggravated Farmer]

Ever thought of getting stilts?

[Atgreene]

The official weather station here in town at a much lower elevation just posted today's current snowpack:Snow core reading
N Sebago
3-18-15
Depth= 21"

You definitely need snowshoes. When I was younger we used to wear out a couple pair of cheap wooden snowshoes each season. Now I buy good ones and spar varnish them as often as possible during the season. The first 11 days of the season I was on snowshoes 8 days, the other three days I was on duty at the firehouse. Bonus, I lost 10 pounds.

[S&STappers]

Jeez, I feel spoiled now. Been walking through leaves for the last week now. Our snow is gone. Big change from last year when I was in the same boat as you guys are now. Invest in the snow shoes and take it slow.