Comments on: Sandshoeing for the WWF Nature 5K https://www.snowshoemag.com/sandshoeing-for-the-wwf-nature-5k/ Inspires & supports snowshoers around the world as the only publication solely dedicated to snowshoeing Mon, 21 Jun 2021 20:26:33 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 By: Susan Wowk https://www.snowshoemag.com/sandshoeing-for-the-wwf-nature-5k/#comment-343019 Tue, 25 May 2021 19:29:42 +0000 https://www.snowshoemag.com/?p=98692#comment-343019 In reply to Robert S. Young.

Thank you so much for sharing an update of your sandshoeing adventures, Bob! We’re glad to hear that the Evas are working well, and we greatly appreciate your insight about your aluminum model (though unfortunate for the wear and tear). We hope that the fundraising efforts for the Nature 5K have been going well. 🙂 -Susan

]]> By: Robert S. Young https://www.snowshoemag.com/sandshoeing-for-the-wwf-nature-5k/#comment-343016 Mon, 24 May 2021 18:53:49 +0000 https://www.snowshoemag.com/?p=98692#comment-343016 Hello friends ,
I have been trying to get up the energy to write this for a few days. Been super busy with another demanding work project and then getting out to train for the 5K when I get home.
I have some good news and some observations about sandshoeing .I have finally got my wife Alexandria out to train with me for the past three days. She is doing fantastic and yesterday we did a bit over two miles yesterday on the hardest part of our course. (Picture attached) The additional mile we need will be over harder sand, so as far as I am concerned …we got this! That is the good news.
Having done over 10 miles of training I would like to offer my personal observations. Sandshoeing is much harder than snowshoeing when using aluminum shoes. I am aching in places I haven’t felt pain in for a number of years. My feet shift as the straps loosen. Making the straps tighter only puts more stress on them and I already blew a back strap on my Crescent Moon Gold racing shoes. The sand not only scrapes the paint off the bottoms of the aluminum frames, but wears on any exposed straps that sink into the soft fine white sand. I am destroying these beautiful running snowshoes by using them for this project. If only using aluminum on occasion, it is probably OK just for the experience, but I would certainly not recommend it. Using garden hose to wrap the exposed parts of the frame keeps the paint from wearing, but does little to protect the straps.
On a positive note, my wife has been using the Crescent Moon EVA foam shoes and has a different experience to report. Where I sink a bit in the soft sand, she easily glides over it without complaint. Getting the right ones for shoe sizing is very important. The pair she is using forces her feet into a less comfortable position. The straps are too big when fitted onto the foot and need to be tucked in. Otherwise, it is not too bad. We decided to get another pair for her that would fit better and we were lucky enough to find them. They are on the UPS truck and are being delivered today. I am going to take hers to use going forward for tonight’s training and onward until the next snowfall. It is fantastic exercise. I have lost five pounds and am eating more than usual. I am also fully hydrated which actually adds more weight. Look for my next report on the EVA.
On the beach, we have been able to identify more species of wildlife. We have seen another pair of North American Oystercatchers hanging out with the first pair we observed. Thirty years ago, you were considered fortunate just to see a Piping Plover and we observed over fifty of them feeding on the ocean shoreline. We also observed a few Red Winged Blackbirds in the dune foliage. We also have to be careful and pay attention because there are moderate sized frogs that are camouflaged into the sand with the same color. We have to be careful not to step on them. (Picture attached)
Also I am including a picture of the only windmill on the south shore of Nassau County where we live. You can actually see the Manhattan Skyline and the Freedom Tower from the jetty where Alexandria is standing . I really need a good camera to show those views.
The sad part of observing that landscape from where we are sandshoeing, is how badly the environment was destroyed by multiple landfills, incinerators, and oil burning power plants right at the shores edge. While most of them have been closed, the environmental damage is in the soil and in the water. Jones Beach is actually an artificially created beach created about one hundred years ago and is south of Long Island’s shoreline with the Great South Bay separating them.
So that is all for now. Look for my next report. Again, thank you and Snowshoe magazine for your support.

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