Perspiring Palin-Style: The Palins' Favorite Sports

IF POLLSTERS GET IT WRONG and something transpires Tuesday that earns Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin a four-year stint in our nation's capital, the GOP vice presidential candidate could indeed find herself hunting down wasteful spending in Washington. But good luck finding some moose. The Palin clan's recreational pleasures won't all be curtailed by a move down south, however. If Todd, Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig Palin are still looking to partake in the family's favorite pastimes while Mom's off governing, there's hope in these parts.

» SNOWMOBILING
Todd Palin is Alaska's "First Dude," a title bestowed upon him when his wife was elected governor. But a title he earned on his own is Iron Dog champion, first-place finisher in a 1,971-mile snowmobile race on the Iditarod trail in Alaska.

The Washington region offers tamer terrain and new lingo. In Alaska, motorized vehicles that are designed for travel on snow or ice and are generally steered by skis or runners are known as snowmachines. Most everywhere else, the exact same thing is known as a snowmobile. And snow? We don't get so much (and never did, even before the climate-change thing started happening). So, the best options are each about a four-hour drive away.

At the Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort (877-441-4386, Snowshoemtn.com) in Snowshoe, W.Va., novice snowmobilers can sign up for guided tours ($99/person midweek, $119/person weekends and holidays) of the mountain in the evenings after the ski slopes shut down. The resort also offers backcountry tours ($159/person), in which guests navigate woods and nearby hiking trails on their snowmobiles. "Boys weekends get a big kick out of it," says Snowshoe's Laura Parquette.

The basic tours are novice-friendly, and the machines are very easy to operate. Though the terrain is quite different, and racing isn't an option, Parquette says that if Todd Palin happened to be settled nearby, he would certainly be welcome. Though, he might get a little bored. "He's a ripper. He wants to go out there and go fast and be a little more daring, which is not what we encourage our guests to do," she says.

Other snowmobile outlets include Virginia's Homestead (540-839-1766, Thehomestead.com) resort in Hot Springs, where the sport is a big draw. According to director of recreation John Corriveau's tally, between 500 and 700 guests booked tours last year ($53-$133).

» HOCKEY
Maybe you've heard that people in the Palin family play hockey. To juggle both lipstick and a hockey stick yourself, head to the Fairfax Ice Arena (3779 Pickett Road, 703-323-1132, Fairfaxicearena.com) for novice leagues and upper-level play.

The arena boasts a wide range of players, says employee Matthew Smith, from people who are just starting out to former college athletes. It's also an international crowd: "Being so close to the D.C. area, we get people from all over the world that come in and play here: Russia, Japan, Canada." Perhaps it's a good way to burnish foreign diplomacy skills.

The arena offers a seven-week introductory course ($137, Sundays at 4 p.m., next session starts Nov. 9) that covers passing, shooting, handling the puck and the basics of hockey skating.

» HUNTING
The Palins hunt big game, such as moose and caribou, which Sarah Palin prefers because "it's kind of more family-oriented," she told a reporter. She also said she uses a .243 for caribou, a bullet that is relatively small and normally used by white-tailed deer hunters. That's lucky, since white-tailed deer are a popular target for hunters in this area — the 2007-2008 tally was up 14 percent from the previous year in Maryland. But those deer weigh in around 150 pounds, at the heaviest. That's not much compared to a moose, which can weigh up to 1,100 pounds.

So, for something a little larger, a hunting enthusiast could try for a bear instead. Este Fisher of the Virginia Bear Hunters Association says that as far as hunting in the eastern United States goes, Virginia is excellent, with an average harvest of 1,300 to 1,500 bears a year. It's not Alaska, of course. "I've seen stories about Anchorage, where bears and moose walk like it's nothing — that's not what we have here," he says. But it's still a thrill to kill, and excellent exercise to boot. "I average walking 200 miles a year," he says. "And there are no roads where I go." To the Palins, that must sound like the real America.

Written by Rachel Drys for Express
Photo by Len Redkoles/Getty Images