Gail and John Kraft of Jackson say snowshoeing has added so much joy to their lives this winter.

When Hester Kohl of Belfast was hired as the 5-2-1-0 coordinator and took over Waldo County General Hospital’s Journey to Health program, one of her goals was to introduce participants to new physical activities they might enjoy. As far as Gail and John Kraft of Jackson are concerned, she couldn’t have succeeded any better.

Gail had been involved in the Waldo County YMCA’s weight loss challenge, which was winding down, and she was looking for a way to stay active during the winter. But with double-knee replacements, cardiac issues and high blood pressure, not just any activity would do. She had been walking along the road during the summer but she wasn’t comfortable doing that during the winter with the high snow banks and large traffic volume along her road.

She was starting to get just a bit frantic about how she was going to stay motivated to exercise at the level she had been when someone told her about a program at the hospital called Journey to Health. She signed up and tried one of the free Zumba Gold classes and loved it. But she wasn’t real anxious to travel to Belfast on dark, snowy nights so she continued to look around.

Then in one of the Journey to Health newsletters, Gail read about the opportunity to try snowshoeing at Belfast City Park during the day. She’d given her husband a pair of snowshoes a couple of years before. He’d tried them once on some snow that wasn’t really good for snowshoeing and ended up putting them away. She thought it might be fun and was willing to give it a try.

John pauses while snowshoeing in Belfast City Park.

The couple dug out John’s pair of snowshoes and notified Hester that they’d like to use one of the pairs she had on hand so attendees could try a new activity. “We both loved it,” Gail said. “I’m going on 60 and I had never been snowshoeing before. I’m not terribly athletic and we both had double-knee replacements so we had concerns about falling and not being able to get back up, but Hester showed us how.”

Then the couple went out back of their house to try snowshoeing on their own. What they discovered was a snowmobile track behind their house that they had no idea was there before. “It’s perfectly groomed and we could walk through the woods. We enjoyed the scenery and beauty of the forest and it’s something we could do together every day. It gave us such peace.”

Gail stops to enjoy the view while snowshoeing in Belfast City Park.

Gail’s husband has nerve damage in his back and has some difficulty walking on the road. But he can snowshoe without as much back pain since it is slower than regular walking so he was more willing to do that type of exercise. “I feel so much better after I do it,” John said, adding that the snowshoeing has helped him with his back pain and with maintaining good physical health.

John adds that Hester was a delight when they snowshoed with her in Belfast City Park on a couple of occasions and now he wants her to teach them to polka in snowshoes.

We have been so thrilled with being able to exercise with our snowshoes during these winter months. It’s added so much to our life in terms of being able to exercise daily during the winter and has added so much joy to our lives. We walk through the woods looking for tracks, animals and birds and feel so great when we get back,” said Gail.

The snowshoeing has helped her not only to keep losing weight, 49 pounds since September, but has helped improve her health and her mood. “You didn’t hear me complaining about the snow this winter. I loved this winter…We are hooked.”

For more information about Journey to Health and new exercise options that will be coming up this spring and fall, go to www.wcgh.org, click the newsletter button and then sign up. Journey to Health is free. You will receive a weekly newsletter by email, with tips on eating healthier, exercising more, reducing your stress and upcoming exercise opportunities.