The start of the week was awesome, with two 5-mile snowshoe hikes through the cold and snow. It was a great workout, and it felt awesome to be back outside after two days spent goofing off indoors
I skipped lumbering on Wednesday because I needed to catch up on some house stuff, as well as make it to an afternoon appointment with the O.G. Mindbender. All the while watching it rain and turn the snow into mashed potatoes.
Now, here I am typing this early Thursday morning; it has become clear to me that I’ve lost some of the jo in my winter mojo.
I have plenty of mo, and I’m not even sure what jo is, but surely it is the cause of my lack of desire to go out into what WAS a winter wonderland but is now a slush-filled nightmare of deep half-melted wet snow, rain, fog, and piles revealed dog shit.
My old-ass feet, calves, knees, and achilles all hurt from the increased efforts and change in gait required by snowshoeing through deep snow, and knowing that all that snow is now slippery and heavy due to yesterday’s rain makes going out today about as appealing as a root canal and void of all jo.
But I know I will go because of all the places I could be going on an early Thursday morning; pushing myself through the wet snow for 4 to 5 miles still beats all of them. Not to mention, I may have had too much to eat last night.
My mo got me to the trails, and they were just as I feared: soft, slippery, deep melting snow, that was hard to maintain traction through even while wearing snowshoes. Shit.
Despite an obvious lack of jo in the effort, I got another 5 miles in, took a few snapshots (only one here, below), and now have 15 miles in this week. Now I need to wait and see how sore I get and whether some early evening “painkillers” reignite my mo for another jo-less effort tomorrow and the chance to hit my shortened 20-mile goal as part of the Winter Contingency Act.
In a couple months, winter will fade, and I’m sure the estranged Mo and Jo with reunite, and these lumbers will be nothing but a distant nightmare as my spring mojo kicks in.
Later.
THE SOILED SOUNDS TRACK OF THE POST
The song Momo (not to be confused with my mojo) is from the vowel-shy band bdrmm from Hull, England (go Tigers!).
Momo comes from the 2020 album Bedroom (vowels included), which is filled with awesome shimmering guitars, harmonies, and distortion with a modern nod in the direction of shoegaze legends Ride. I really dig this album, and the tracks never fail to take my mind to that wonderful place where dreams just begin to enter one’s sleep.
The band also released an album in 2023 called I Don’t Know. I’ve only heard a few tracks, but I’m anxious to listen to more while enjoying a pint or two of the aforementioned “painkillers” later tonight. My first listens are positive, with the band maintaining the shoegaze feel but also not shying away from the sounds of Mogwai or more electronic psych influences like Tame Impala. Should be a great listen!