LYNN – While the recent spate of mild winter weather has been a godsend to those who grit their teeth and endore it, there’s been a part of Al Jackson that has yearned for a little, if you’ll pardon us, action.And Jackson, the former St. Mary’s boys soccer coach, will be getting plenty of it now that the storm that has come to be called Nemo has blasted through the area.”It’s been a long time around here,” said Jackson. “We haven’t had a winter in a long time. I’m looking forward to it, I hate to say. And my wife will kill me.”Jackson is a snowshoeing enthusiast, having taken up the activity eight years ago while on vacation in the White Mountains.”There were a lot of snow-related activities up there, and we gave it a try. And it was so relaxing ? so peaceful.”It’s a weird kind of quiet,” he said. “You can hear the snow crunching beneath yhour feet, and see snow falling out of the trees ?”The thing that makes snowshoeing appealing to Jackson is “anybody can do it.”Your snowshoes are based on how much you weigh, and it has very low impact on your joints.”Jackson should know. He’s had nine knee operations, including replacements.”And still,” he said, “I can shoe pain free. There’s nothing hard about it, except that it is a good workout and you’ll be tired when you’re done.”Also, he said, it’s an easy activity to learn.”If you want to learn, go to an groomed trail,” he said. “The snow’s packed down a little, and realistically, you don’t want to go deeper than a foot and a half if you’re beginning.”Ungroomed trails,” he said, “tend to have less packed snow, they’re deeper, and you can get stuck if you’re not careful.”There’s a trick to snowshoeing, Jackson says. You plant your foot flat, not heel-to-toe, “because you’ll sink down.”You’ve probably seen the old-fashioned snowshoes that look like big tennis racquets. But those are fast becoming a thing of the past. The newer ones are made made of aluminum, with easy-to-adjust straps, and sharp “bites” on the bottom that makes them less slippery.”I’ve had great luck with them,” he said. “If you have the right equipment, it’s like floating on top of the snow. It feels like you’re walking on a piece of wood, over the top of the snow.”Jackson saidi the two bests places to shoe in the immediate area are Lynn Woods and Breakheart. Of the two, he prefers Breakheart “because all of the trails lead back to the main road. In the woods, it can be pretty dangerous if you don’t know where you’re going.”As for groomed trails, Nashoba is probably the best, he said ? at least in the immediate area. He likes it better in the North Country because there are so many places that cater to winter activities the trails are well maintained.”Nashoba is good, though,” he said. “It’s business for them. They let you use the club and everything.”In Conway (N.H.) there are so many places so close together that the trails link,” he said. “We have a Chocolate Day up there in February ? call it a chocoholic snoeshoe weekend. That’s a good time. It’s a lot of fun.”He advises first-timers to take it slow.”Go out for a half hour just to get used to it, and see how it goes,” he said, “because it is a workout. If you find you like it, go for a little longer next time.”Also,” he said, “even if you’re experienced, you should have ski poles with you. They’re good for two reasons. One to keep your balance, and second because you get a good idea of how deep the snow is with them.”He also says that although it’s not a problem going up and down hills on snowshoes, he’d advise a flat surface for the novice.”If you live near a park, that would be perfect,” he said. “If you get into trouble, you won’t be so deep, or so far away, that you couldn’t get out of trouble. Just try it to see what it feels like.”Snowshoeing, Jackson says, is the perfect winter sport.”A lot of us can’t do what we used to do,” he said. “Our bodies won’t allow it. But this is aerobically helpful and low-impact. You don’t need to be in super shape to do it, a