Montana
On a global scale of 1-10, Montana surely ranks as a ten-plus. Even a short litany of its physical features and resources – Rocky Mountains, Glacier National Park, Bitterroot Range and Yellowstone National Park, ignites mental images of grandeur. Each season the array of outdoor activities changes, offering unique and intimate views of Montana’s rich repository of landscapes and wildlife. Time spent outdoors provides the difference between casual sightseeing and the emotional experience of being in touch with Mother Nature and more importantly, ones own self.
Discovering the importance of the outdoors in a woman’s life, quite often stands at variance with the realities of her work and duties. When speaking to groups of women, I often note their heads nodding up and down, in affirmation, as I make the comment, “I started my outdoor life, at age 50 years old, after my youngest child graduated from high school.” They frequently respond, “I just didn’t have time either.” For others, the outdoor experience is not a part of their adult life because it was not part of their childhood… simply because they were girls.
When opportunity finally arrives, it may come packaged as an impulse, the suggestion of a friend, or a fluke of fate. Confronted with the suspicion that this may be something she wants to explore, a woman now realizes that she is older and doesn’t have a clue on where or how to start choosing options, learning about the outdoors, and finally mastering new skills. Let’s face it; for the uninitiated, the outdoors, especially in winter, can be a pretty intimidating place!
Getting Started
One outstanding program, which I happened onto, via the Internet, is: Becoming an Outdoors-Woman. BOW is a non-profit, educational program founded by Christine Thomas, designed especially for adult women. Listed on the Workshops for 2002, there are 42 of the United States and eight Canadian Provinces. February 8-10, 2002 the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks sponsored a series of Winter: Beyond Becoming an Outdoors-Woman Workshops. They were held 31 miles northeast of Missoula, Montana in the Lubrecht Forest.
Twenty-five outrageously wild women, ages 26 years old to 80-something years old, gathered in the woods to try: Cross-Country Skiing (Nordic Skiing), Snowshoeing, Fly Tying and Ice Fishing. Other workshops covered: Wildlife in Winter, Care & Cooking of Wild Game, and Furs from Field to Fedora. Nine women instructors introduced the “sisterhood of winter novices” to the joy of stepping outside the box of their normal lives into Montana’s white, winter wonderland. Women, as nurturers, always appreciate another woman’s efforts on their behalf. The Winter BOW was no exception.
As if on cue, the groups had perfect weather for each activity. Friday afternoon, Cross-country ski Instructor, Mavis Lorenz (age 75 years young), took the Never-Evers under her wing. Mavis does not mollycoddle; nor is she a demanding teacher. Her encouraging words and graceful skiing examples were specific and well timed. Of the dozen times I fell, Mavis retrieved me twice from deep snow. “Give me your arm,” she said. Extending my arm, she righted me like a crane, effortlessly. In twenty years, I can only hope to be a fit as Mavis!
A soft snow, with huge flakes, fell straight down on us. At first, the Never-Evers moved stiff-legged around a large meadow. Mavis would demonstrate how we were supposed to move, and two lines of Never-Evers, following the tracks, would try to mimic her graceful style. The fun level grew in intensity, as Mavis put us through a series of exercises aimed a loosening us up to the point where we would begin to trust in our own balance and start to “glide” on the cross-country skis. Gales of laughter broke out when one of us would crash or let out a loud “Ooopppse!”
The beauty of the afternoon was not in the doing…but in the trying. None of the Never-Evers had ever been on skis. There was no competition, no expectation, just the act of being willing to try something adventuresome and new. The Never-Evers were extending beyond the range of their daily expertise, to something whimsical. It is not often, in life, that we have the opportunity to experience this sort of challenge.
A couple of hours later, after a short break at the nearby Dining Hall, the Never-Evers were off on their inaugural cross-country trip. The Forest floor proved to be much more undulating than the meadow. Small downhill spots again challenged the confidence we had all gained. Bodies of fallen ski-sisters, giggling uncontrollably, littered the forest.
All too soon, the 3-½ hours lesson was over. Gliding back toward the Dining Hall, the novices each thanked Mavis, who volunteers each year, for her time and outstanding instruction. Skis and poles were planted in the snow. Weary but smiling women relaxed, enjoying the camaraderie before the next scheduled event.
Saturday morning a brilliant sun greeted the participants as it filtered through the towering pine trees. After breakfast, Zoe King gave a short lecture on Snowshoeing and helped novices put their equipment on correctly. Although I have snowshoed for several years, I have never known how to put the snowshoes on correctly. They did not arrive with a diagram and certainly I had no techniques to make the sport more efficient and enjoyable. I had always just strapped on the shoes as best I could and shuffled around.
Compared
to the cross-country, snowshoeing seemed like a breeze. Darlene Edge, after
a warm-up, led the class down the snowy road and into the woods. “Be sure to
watch for wildlife track as you cross the forest”, she said. At intervals Darlene
would stop the class to demonstrate a technique like crossing dead fall (tree
trunks), moving backwards on snowshoes, or crossing fences.
Lubrecht Forest offers great hillsides on which to practice downhill travel and slopes to practice sidestepping and herringbone technique for going uphill.
It is probably safe to say that none of the snowshoe novices mastered the glissade technique where you sort of ski down a hill on the back of snowshoes, but it sure was fun trying.
Later in the morning, at a stop in the Forest, we were treated to a cup of hot chocolate prepared on a tiny camp stove. Standing around, sipping the sweet, hot drink, munching on a granola bar, life just seemed too perfect.
Saturday
afternoon, while some of us made fur ear muffs and hats from pelts, the
wild game cooking class, under the guidance of Chef Vince Pernicano were preparing
a medieval supper worthy of the King’s wedding feast. That evening, once we
had all gathered in the Dining Hall, the doors opened and the proud cooks, wearing
their aprons, carried in heavy serving dishes. Keen appetites from the day’s
outdoor activities only added to the appreciation of the meal.
The entrees included Goose Rolls filled with prunes and apricots wrapped in bacon, Venison Cutlets, Pheasant Scaloppini, Elk Cabbage Rolls, Cajun Duck, and Lake Trout Marinara. None of us had ever seen such an array of delicious, exotic foods. Each dish was prepared to perfection! The Dining Room smelled absolutely delectable. Leftovers were packed up by the cooking class students and stored in the refrigerator in the Lodge to be savored later with their families.
Later that evening we met the Ice Fishing instructors, Jan Thon and John Cloninger. Jan is a retired Fourth Grade teacher and together with John she now spends her wintertime teaching Fourth Graders from 75 schools how to ice fish. The Never-Ever held an ice fishing pole BOW class was right up their alley.
Entering the Lab, we found big white buckets, stuffed to
overflowing, sitting on the conference table. “Take a 
seat,
Jan chuckled.” She is a woman who clearly loves what she does. Inside the
bucket were all sorts of goodies, which John had procured from local businesses
for our fishing adventure. Free ice fishing poles, tackle, lures, bobs, fingernail
cutters for the line, candy, tiny bottles of sun screen, mascara, and eye cream,
a whistle, toothbrush to clean out fish guts, tissue, and Efferdent tablets
to wash our hands once we were finished for the day. John admitted, “I just
love getting all this stuff together.” It was like trick-or-treat.
Patiently, the instructors walked the class through assembling the gear. “It’s easier to do it tonight rather than stand around in the morning when it will be really cold, said Jan.”
“Really cold,” turned out to be 8 degrees the next morning! The sun could not have been brighter and thank goodness there was no breeze. It took 20 minutes to drive to an area lake and soon the class of women were walking across the frozen lake, single file carrying their trick-or-treat buckets.
“Is anybody worried about walking on this ice, John asked?” Several voices admitted that they were a little leery. Quickly, John whipped the ice auger upright, turning it into the ice. In a few seconds the plug of ice gave way, “It’s 16 inches thick,” came his response. O.K. Let’s go.”
After
each of us had drilled a hole, we settled onto our overturned buckets for some
serious fishing. Bites were exciting and frequent. John amused us with fishing
tips like: “If you put the maggot between your bottom lip and your teeth, your
bait will be warm and the maggot will clean all the plaque off your teeth.”
Eight women in eight degree temperature fishing on 16 inches of ice…Total catch for the morning amounted to six bait-size fish. But the adventure was twice as big as a marlin.
Anita, one of the novice ice fishers was using her father’s
old equipment. “He died nine years ago, and this is the first time I ever looked
in his bucket. We used to fish together all the time out on the lake, but I
never ice fished with him.” She lugged his big ice auger along as well. For
her, holding that pole linked her not only to a new experience, but reconnected
her to a loving part of her
childhood. Having her share those memories, with our group, made the morning
even more special.
Becoming an Outdoors-Woman provides a place for women to stretch for new experiences, to realize different and unexplored dimensions of their lives. BOW offers a safe place to experiment with the unknown in the company of women who are likewise opening new doors.
Before the Winter BOW workshop, had I ever imagined myself ice fishing? Never!
Do I ever see myself spending the entire winter in an icehouse on a frozen lake?
Never!
Would I join a group of women ice fishing some weekend?
In a heartbeat! My trick-or-treat fishing bucket is in the garage ready to go.
Thank you Montana BOW.
If you see any of the pictures in the article, which you would like for me to download for you or to send a copy of, let me know. Please identify each photo and your name for me.
If you see any of the pictures in the article, which you would like for me to download for you or to send a copy of, let me know. Please identify each photo and your name for me.
E-mail: Elizabeth@outdoorneophyte.com