Not using monsterously large shoes will
greatly help. And busting trail by yourself... you
are gonna go "wtf was I thinking".
having second thoughts on those snow shoes - because I now remember how easy it was to move with heavy gear on touring ski through the snow, even up pretty steep slopes when using skins. Still scared of the big downhills, but maybe if I ski the more level and uphill stuff, and snow shoe the steep downhills, I can get the best of both worlds, except for the extra weight and even higher cost of that gear.
I have enough time to refresh my ski skills before that trip to be ok at least on the generally easy slopes that dominate the majority of trail miles.
