Inside the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Environmental Education Center, ranger Michelle Ostrowski demonstrates how to put on a snowshoe to a room of outdoor enthusiasts. As the sun is setting, the group of about 12 steps outside to strap on their gear.
“If we fall into the snow, the easy way to get up, for anyone who hasn’t been in snowshoes before, is a dramatic fall,” Ostrowski said during her demonstration. “Get yourself around your stomach and onto your knees.”
The night’s plan is to hike up Centennial Trail, then onto Headquarters Lake, which is frozen over and covered in snow. Ranger Michelle, as she is commonly known, leads the nearly two-mile trek.
With just enough daylight to see the ground, Ostrowski makes multiple stops to identify snowshoe hare tracks along the way. She teaches the group a few new words, including crepuscular, an animal that is primarily active during twilight hours. Snowshoe hares, and their predators, are crepuscular animals.
“A great horned owl’s favorite food is snowshoe hares,” Ostrowski said during the walk. “So they come up when their food source is out. This area is a good area to hear them, they sound like they’re saying ‘hoo, hoo, hoo cooks for you.’”
After a few more fun-fact-filled stops, the group makes it to Headquarters Lake as the full moon rises just above the treeline. Some stop to take photos, others frolic atop the frozen lake. The temperature outside is hovering around zero degrees.
Ostrowski says the refuge has been hosting full moon guided snowshoe walks for about a decade. She says the idea for the event came after the refuge purchased a surplus of snowshoes.
“I think one of the big reasons to do this is just to connect the community with the refuge, and realize that there’s a lot of fun recreation and a lot of fun things you can do with us,” Ostrowski said.
For some people, the event is the first time they’ve ever worn snowshoes. Travis Lawson recently moved to Soldotna from Tennessee. He says events like these remind him of the importance of limiting human impact on the environment.
“Once we can go out and explore and see what’s out there, it makes us much more likely to take care of it,” Lawson said. “And then also, just out in the winter, sometimes it’s good to be around people. Exploring nature around other people is really nice.”
“Don’t be afraid to explore, even when it’s really cold,” said Ostrowski. “Just bundle up and be prepared. That’s one of the nice things about going with a group and having guides is that sense of community, we’re kind of all looking out for each other, making sure everyone’s warm, making sure everybody’s having a good time and learning. Don’t be afraid, if your friends don’t want to go with you but you want to go, still come.”
The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge will host more full moon guided snowshoe walks throughout the season. For more information on upcoming events, visit the refuge’s Facebook page.
