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Covering many miles on the ski trails

Photo at left: Click for recent photos from the the Ice Age Trail.

Skiing has been excellent during the past couple weeks, and several of our regular walkers, including yours truly, have accumulated many miles on our cross-country skis.

The trails at the Nordic, Scuppernong, McMiller, and Lapham Peak trails have been kept very well groomed.

The Scuppernong Trails are groomed for classic skiing only, while the others allow both classic and skate skiing.

All of these ski areas have some trails with expert hills and only Scuppernong has no relatively level trails for beginners. I spend most of my time skiing at the Nordic Trails primarily because they are closer to home.

The anticipated above-freezing temperatures will melt the surface, which will freeze at night making for icy conditions and there may be soft spots when the sun is out. This can make the steeper hills risky, especially for beginners. There is a good snow base, so if we get a small amount of new snow, the conditions could again become very good.

Our Tuesday walk took us on a quick hike around Lake LaGrange. We did not take the re-route, which bypasses Kangaroo Walk as we figured that ice on the lake water covering the board walk would be strong enough to keep us from sinking.

We found Kangaroo Walk ice and snow covered, except near the beginning where there is a large spring hole and open water came part way across the path. We walked on the ice south of that spot. There are many muskrat homes near and along the walk which we examined as we crossed the lake.

The trail had been well used so walking was easy on the packed snow. Afterwards I went to the Annual Meeting of the Walworth/Jefferson County Chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance. I had been coordinator for four years, the maximum time allowed by the chapter by-laws. This was my last meeting as coordinator and after elections I was very pleased to pass the gavel on to Liz DeBraal. Congratulations Liz.

The next day, twenty of us split up into three different groups. Meg McCormack took those wanting a short walk to the Muir Trails to walk the short red loop, just a bit over a mile and a half. Meg reported that most of them would have liked a bit longer a walk but were ok with it.

The rest of our group with me in the lead carpooled to the Emma Carliln Trails on Highway Z south of Highway 59 east of Palmya. Here we walked the trails making up the orange and red trails.

Those who wanted the shortest walk then returned to the parking lot while the rest of us finished the remaining green loop adding more than three miles to our hike, a total of just over seven miles. These beautiful trails meander over and along steep hillsides with spectacular scenery. From the top of high hills we could see the countryside extending many miles beyond the rolling hills.

In addition to animal tracks we saw much evidence of woodpeckers in the area where they left freshly drilled holes with wood chips sprinkled on the snow below. On our way back some of us stopped at the Subway in Palmyra for lunch. Some rain is forecast for the weekend, so we will find out how much that affects the trails.

Happy trekking, Russ

Activities

Saturday Jan. 23, 6-9pm, Candlelight Ski at Nordic Trails: Classic ski or snowshoe with more than 400 candles lighting the way. Food for sale and fire for food you bring to roast. Contact Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest headquarters (262) 594-6200.

Friday Jan. 29, 7 p.m., Moonlight Hike/Snowshoe, Emma Carlin Trails. Contact Russ Helwig (262) 473-2187.

Feb. 6-7, MSC Winter Rendvous: Central Wisconsin Environmental Station near Amhurst Junction. Hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, preview of 2010 activities. Pre-register on the IATA Web site www.iceagetrail.org by Jan. 22. Contact Gary Klatt (262) 473-4973.

Saturday, Feb. 6, 8:30 a.m., Special volunteer workday at Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy followed by the Williams Bay Civic League Chili Cookoff at noon. See more info at http://www.kishwauketoe.org/activities/calendar/calendar.html

Feb. 12-14, Madison Garden Expo. Help staff a table to share our handouts, calendar, maps, etc. Contact Gary Klatt (262) 473-4973.

Tuesday Feb. 16, 7 p.m., Walworth/Jefferson County Chapter, IATA Meeting: US Bank, Elkhorn. Contact Liz DeBraal (262) 723-2625.

Weekly Walks

We meet at 4 p.m. Tuesdays and 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays at the Highway 12 Ice Age National Scenic Trail crossing located about four miles east of Whitewater.

We include two or more walks of different distances on Wednesdays, and also do this on Tuesdays when desired.

All ages are welcome.

Note that a state park pass is required to park a car at the Highway 12 meeting place.

A daily or yearly pass may be purchased at the meeting place provided correct change is available.