# DNR offers snowshoe building workshop for women



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 2005

Contact: Lynn Marla, 517-241-2225 or Mary Dettloff, 517-335-3014

DNR offers snowshoe building workshop for women

The Department of Natural Resources Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) program today announced a snowshoe building class at Twin Pine Lodge near Grayling, Jan. 27-29, that also features a guided snowshoe hike at Hartwick Pines State Park.

Following a get-acquainted party Friday night, participants will build a pair of traditional snowshoes made of white ash during the Saturday workshop. The instructor is Alan Wernette, park interpreter at Ludington State Park. On Sunday, the group will travel to Hartwick Pines State Park for a guided two-hour hike on their new snowshoes, lead by Park Interpreter Craig Kasmer, culminating with a hot lunch at the Michigan Forest Visitor Center.

Twin Pine Lodge offers cozy and gracious accommodations on the banks of the Au Sable River for a true "up north" experience. The grounds are covered with pines, cedars and hardwoods -- perfect for snowshoeing. For a virtual tour, visit their Web site at www.twinpinelodge.net.

The workshop cost is $300, which includes two nights stay at Twin Pine Lodge, meals, as well as all materials and instruction for building the snowshoes. Class size is very limited to allow plenty of time for individual assistance.

"Join us for this fun winter wonderland workshop and build your own pair of snowshoes that will bring you years of outdoor enjoyment and the warm camaraderie of also making new friendships," said Lynn Marla, BOW program coordinator. For more information, contact Marla at (517) 241-2225.

The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state's natural resources for current and future generations.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Ludington - A walk in the park

http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/news.php?story_id=34733

1-26-2007 By BRIAN MULHERIN Daily News Staff Writer
[email protected] 843-1122, ext. 348

Long before the horse-drawn sleigh, the snowmobile, tire chains and the hovercraft, someone created a way to travel through deep snow. 

Estimates place the origins of snowshoes to Central Asia about 6,000 years ago, according to the U.S. Snowshoe Association. They are believed to have come to North America when people crossed the frozen Bering Straits.

The world may never know whether the inspiration for snowshoes came from observing animals with wide paws glide over a foot of snow or from a breakthrough of human ingenuity, but snowshoes are still around and they still help people cross deep snow. 

Ludington State Park Interpreter Alan Wernette is Mr. Snowshoe. He teaches classes on making the shoes and takes people on guided snowshoe hikes every Saturday, snow permitting. The Friends of Ludington State Park helped Wernette acquire 40 pairs of snowshoes that are loaned out at the park for each walk. 

Wernette was introduced to snowshoes at Muskegon State Park several years ago and has since guided thousands of people on walks and helped hundreds make snowshoes of their own. His snowshoe-making classes are booked for this winter, but he expects to have more classes in late fall. 

The varied terrain Native American tribes inhabited and the ingenuity of those tribes are responsible for the variety of snowshoes invented over the years, Wernette said. 

Todays snowshoes are broken into several categories, the most popular and widespread being the modified bearpaw. 

If youve seen a snowshoe with an aluminum frame, chances are youve seen a modified bearpaw. 

They are typically oval and have a width of less than one foot and a length of about two feet. 

Modified or Green Mountain bearpaws are great for recreational use because theyre light, compact and easy to use  simply walk normally. 

Why are some bearpaws called modified bearpaws? 

The original bearpaws were rounder and didnt have a tip that is upturned like a modern snowshoe. Upturned tips mean you dont have to lift your feet so high to walk.

Wernette said the first snowshoes were believed to have been crude bearpaws. People simply made an oblong hoop out of wood then weaved some kind of strap  typically animal tissue like catgut or rawhide  through the frame. 

In the last few decades, nylon or neoprene lacing has replaced animal-based lacing because man-made materials are more durable and require less maintenance. Wernette is partial to the neoprene lacing  in fact, he has what is believed to be the last stash of neoprene snowshoe lacing on the planet. 

I went right to the factory to buy what I have, Wernette said. This was two years ago, the guy said Once theyre gone, theyre gone. 

Wernette said he thinks he has enough for two more years of snowshoe-making classes. 

After that, hell teach people to weave shoes with nylon lacing. 

In its finished form, nylon lacing looks more like rawhide or gut lacing and some people, like Park Officer Kevin Swygert, appreciate the traditional look. Wernette prefers neoprene because theres no polyurethane coating required like there is for nylon. But he believes that, treated properly, nylon can be every bit as durable as neoprene. 

No matter what theyre laced with, modified bearpaws allow for faster travel than bearpaws and better cornering than snowshoes with tails, making them ideal for thick woods. 

Thats for getting through tight places, tight areas, Wernette said. Going up a slope is much easier to do with a small snowshoe like that. 

If youre going on a longer hike over sparse woods or open country, Wernette recommends snowshoes with a tail, like a Michigan, Huron or Ojibway snowshoe. The tail on a snowshoe of those styles helps a persons feet track straighter. 

Wernette believes modern, tailed snowshoes are ideal for most situations in this part of the state. Hunters or trappers who cross downed logs and slip through cedar swamps might want a bearpaw, but people just out for a walk on snowshoes would likely prefer tailed snowshoes. 

Supply issues 

In recent years, Wernette hasnt been able to get as many frames as hed like, so in the future, frames will come from a Minnesota company. Most of the people at his previous snowshoe-making classes have made a pair of modified Huron snowshoes called Driftbusters. The white ash frames for those snowshoes were built by the Iverson Snowshoe Company in Shingleton, Mich. 

On February 3 well have zero frames left and those will be the end of the Iverson frames, Wernette said. Starting next year, well be using frames from Country Ways, theyre going to start making their own. 

Theyre one of the last traditional snowshoe makers. They used to get their frames from Iverson, but now theyre going to make their own. 

Take a hike 

Reactions to the snowshoe hikes are almost unanimously positive. Wernette takes an hour and a half to guide people around the park, covering just over a mile in the process. 

He stops at examples of tree diseases and outlines some of the parks dune-preservation efforts. The hikes stick to the woods instead of the dunes because sand is hard on the snowshoes and the worst feedback hes ever got from a hike was the one time he took a group of people into the parks dunes. 

Reactions to Saturdays hike, which drew about 30 people from as far away as Allen Park, were positive. 

Terri Nedderman of Ludington said shes been waiting for snow so she could get out to one of the hikes. 

She said the best part of a hike is the people and watching the kids. 

Wernette, who has been guiding hikes for 12 years, was pleased by the turnout. 

I thought it was real good, Wernette said. It shows you that people were waiting for snow. Ive been getting phone calls from people from Detroit and southeast Michigan asking Are you still having snowshoe walks?

The answer now is yes.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2007

Alan Wernette 231-843-9261 or Mary Dettloff 517-335-3014

Snowshoe Walks Scheduled for Ludington State Park in February

Ludington State Park will offer guided snowshoe walks on Saturdays, Feb. 3, 10 and 17, for outdoor enthusiasts. The 90-minute walks will take place at 3 p.m. or a Moonlight Walk will be offered at 7 p.m. All walks are weather permitting.

Snowshoeing is an easy and fun winter activity, said Alan Wernette, park interpreter at Ludington State Park. It can be done by anyone at any age and one hour of moderate walking on snowshoes can burn off 700 calories, making it a great way to get in shape.

All walks will begin and end at the warming shelter, located next to the parking lot at the parks entrance. The park has 40 pairs of snowshoes available as loaners for participants on a first come, first served basis. The loaner shoes will fit walkers ages 8 years old and up. Novices are welcome and participants will be provided with basic instruction on how to put on and use the snowshoes. Participants are welcome to bring their own snowshoes as well. 

Participants should dress warm, and wear a good-fitting pair of winter walking shoes or boots. Persons going on the Moonlight Walk should also bring a flashlight. 

All motor vehicles entering a Michigan State Park or Recreation Area must display a Motor Vehicle Permit, available for purchase at the park entrance. Cost is $24 for a resident annual and $6 for a resident daily. A nonresident annual is $29 and a nonresident daily is $8.

For more information on the snowshoe walks, call Alan Wernette at Ludington State Park at 231-843-9261.

The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the states natural resources for current and future generations.


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