I decided that I wasn’t getting out skiing because I was no longer an exercise addict. Unfortunately, exercise is an easy addiction to overcome. I know the old rule: get out for at least two weeks in a row and it will become second nature. I happen to know that this rule is true. I’ve experienced it. Therefore, my goal is to get out for two weeks, on a regular basis, and ski.

Today, I drove to the Nara trails – the secondary trailhead to the Michigan Tech ski trails. This trailhead lies just south of Houghton. I have to say, if you are an intermediate to advanced skier, this the trailhead for you.

Nara proved to be a bit of challenge for me. The very first loop is a green loop, a beginner loop. That’s very cool. I skied onto the Ridge Loop – a blue loop. Almost immediately, I stood there looking at a hill thinking, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” No, skiers don’t kid in Houghton. The fact is, what you see is what you get, and you will always be challenged. I chose to meet the challenge.

I quickly realized that the intermediate Nara trails bridged the gap between the [old] intermediate [blue] Michigan Tech ski trails and the [old] Michigan Tech advanced [black] trails. My desire to try something new was just what I needed to meet the challenge of bridging that gap.

While skating on the new Nara trails, I had a lot of “You’ve got to be kidding me” moments. I did not succumb to my fear, however, and met the challenges. I eventually made my way to a black diamond trail (advanced) by the name of Skidder. My first experience with Skidder was a steep downhill to the right that, well, freaked the crap out of me. I stood at the top debating whether I should take the skis off and walk, or suck it up and ride down. I ultimately chose to ride.

It didn’t seem to take too long for my somewhat out-of-shape body to make its way to the Core loop, the gateway for the upper trails. I skated around that loop to the green loops and did all of them. The highlight for this little excursion was meeting my drinking buddies on Oak Loop: Don and Carl. You see, I first met these guys at The Library. The joke between Don and me was that I didn’t believe he had a wife (he always talked about her, but I never met her), and he didn’t believe I was really a biker (I always talked about it, but he never saw it). This was resolved in the fall of 2008.

Lately, I would show up for the after ski, but I wasn’t skiing. Today, I did one hell of a ski (almost 10 miles) and showed up for the after ski. In fact, I was the first one there, and I skied the longest. Yeah! Of course, the after ski proved to be entertaining, as usual. In fact, I was part of the entertainment, as usual.

It feels really good to be skiing, again. The fact is, my athletic endeavors are a large part of who I am, and today was a great example of getting back to my core.