Skiing the Mulmer Hills in Mansfield

I needed to stop sitting behind my computer for a few hours so I drove up to Mansfield Outdoor Center and finally got some good cross country skiing in this year. Actually, noting the impending rain and above freezing temperatures forcast for most of the eastern half of Ontario.. I figured I'd better get out, because it could be weeks before there was skiing again. I did the 9.5 km blue trail - which starts off with a lot of hills... going up, coming down etc. However, a little ways in the terrain levels out and there are about 5 or 6 km of wonderful skiing in the woods. There was a nice couple who provided me some advice on good places to try skiing around here. I'd really like to go to Hardwood Hills, Wasage and Scenic Caves before the winter is out - truthfully... I'd really like to go to Algonquin Park, Silent Lake and the Gatineau and I wouldn't mind some skiing in Thunder Bay - but none of those are likely to happen - so I'll settle for the accomplishable. I finished up with an easy ski on the 2km orange loop that follows the edge of a river - but in the fading sun it was charming and I saw a doe, which was nice.

Its been years since I've skied much. Most of it came back - I'm sure my technique was never fabulous - but a lot of it is natural... the one thing I'm struggling with is hills which is funny - since I've done more down hill skiing in the last 10 years than cross country by a wide margin, but maybe that is the cause... I don't know how to ski down a narrow path on a hill with narrow skis. I was getting better by the end. I can snow plow okay, but I think my body purposely flops over when I get going to fast becuase I feel nervous about it. I think once I feel more confident about steering and turning and build up a few muscles I'll be okay. I will however stop skiing in jeans until I cut back on my falls significantly. They get wet and cold.