Speaking of Sports

By John Fragodt, Sports Reporter

Well, I’ve got my first handful of cross-country treks of 2024-25 under my belt and that’s really not a big deal for me except for the fact that I missed all of last winter for the first time in about 48 years so I was very happy just to get out.

I dislocated my shoulder during the summer of 2023 so I thought it best to take a winter off just in case I took a bad fall coming down a hill and tried to use my arms to break my fall (it happens all the time, unfortunately).

I made it out Thursday, Nov. 21, after the area received a light snowfall which blanketed Pelican Lake.  I also went out during Thanksgiving weekend, journeying around the outside of Pelican Lake from our home on the north side of the lake toward Trapper’s Run and around Nordic Point to almost the far south side of the lake.  And, the recent 3-5 inches of snow we received last weekend gave me another chance to head out for two more one-hour treks just before Christmas.

It was perfect and reminded me why I love cross-country skiing so much.

I bought my first pair of skis during my 9th grade year in high school in 1976-77.  I did a lot of cross-country skiing during high school, and most times, my sister and I would drive about 10 miles north of Benson on Highway 29 and stop at Barsness Woods where a lot of snowmobilers would go.

We would follow the snowmobile trails for hours at end and would sometimes bring along some wood, matches, hot dogs and marshmallows to build a fire and enjoy some food.

My skis used to have the old binding system and I would use some old hiking boots.  Things have gotten a lot better over the years, and I’ve upgraded my skis a few times.  Now, I use the three-prong binding system with special boots/shoes.

One of these years, I’ll upgrade again and use the most high-tech binding system, but I’ve been using the same skis for over 48 years and I really want them to at least enjoy one final ski on their 50th year anniversary.

In the meantime, I end up having to fix them at least once a year by drilling some new holes for screws, or gluing some part of my skis or boots together to make them work.  I just hate throwing things away.

I’ve gone to so many places on my skis; a lot of places where no one else can get to, especially in the winter time.

I normally don’t like being out in the cold very much, but on skis, it takes on a different meaning.  I actually enjoying being out in the cold and dark at night, with hardly any noise around except for the sound of my skis gliding across the snow.

I also love to bring along my son’s dog, although she tends to like to chase deer, and I also have a nice warm hat that has Wifi so I’ll enjoy some great songs from the 1970s while pretending to be an Arctic explorer (Shackleton, Amundsen, or Cook) trekking across the Polar landscape.

Yes, skiing has allowed me to stay in decent shape during the winter season.  It’s not easy for me to put on all my stuff and venture out in the dark and cold, but when I’m underway, I’m always happy I went.

I also did finally get out skating on the lake about two weeks ago, skating across Pelican and going past the deepest part of the lake on the way to my son’s fish house.  Even though he said there was 10-11 inches of ice on the lake, I still have a tough time relaxing while skating in the middle of the lake and would never do that at night.

Yes, busy living or busy dying.  Hopefully, my health will allow me to continue skiing and skating for another couple decades, at least.