By Joe Crain
As I watch the winter snow melt away (oh yes, we still have snow to melt!), 16 inches to go as a matter of fact, and we started the month of March with 32 inches on the ground. We didn’t see high temperatures above freezing until the 8th, and didn’t see a 40-degree reading until the 13th! That night was our first above freezing and we have only had four days that have had lows at, or above, freezing all month, so the melt has been moving at a rather slow pace…
Adam’s “Story of the Summer” Sunday Service
But as I had started to say, as I watch the winter snow melt away I am reminded of the topic of the last Sunday service of the season at camp each summer, officiated by Director Adam Kaplan. For those of you who have never had the pleasure of attending the service, Adam offers all in attendance the opportunity to reflect upon the season that we have just lived as if it were a book we had written for ourselves. He offers chapter titles and then allows all in attendance the opportunity to tell their stories that they had written in their book. For example, chapter headings might be: “The funniest thing that happened to me this summer…”, “The most challenging thing I faced this summer…”, or “The person that had the most impact on me this summer was…” It’s always an interesting service and a great way to look back on the camp season and how it impacted each story teller, and for the listeners the opportunity to hear about some really goofy and often moving stuff that can happen on the trail or here at camp over the season.
So, if I was to look back at the winter of 2019 as if it was a book I have written, it would go something like this…
Chapter one: I love skiing in November
The best part of skiing in November for me this year is that it started on the 11th of the month after an awesome 10-inch snow storm. Don’t get me wrong, the roller skiing I had been doing through October and the first week of November was great, but skiing on snow in November is rare and delightful! There is nothing better than the first tracks of the season, it is true, but when those tracks occur in November, and at camp… unheard of and, well, delightful!!
Chapter Two: Though December had a melt down and little snow, I love skiing on Lake Nebagamon
Wow, what a great December for skiing on Lake Nebagamon, and doing it on my brand-new Rossignol Back Country skis was almost too much. The month was so perfect for lake skiing that I was able to ski all four bays of the lake, including the YMCA bay for the first time! Another first for my skiing this December was laps around the Lake Nebagamon Cemetery, an outing I came to call the “Ancestors Tour.” it was a great 1/2-kilometer loop that kept me at a respectful distance from the eternal rest-ers, but had a monster climb on the north side and a great downhill on the south. After four laps I headed back to the lake to finish the tour filled with meaningful memories of my own ancestors that have passed.
Chapter Three: Seven consecutive days of skiing in Yellowstone Country in January; I love back country skiing in a caldera
I learned a lot on this year’s Yellowstone adventure: Nine hours on the trail battling fierce winds, climbing over countless downed trees, scraping pounds of wet snow off the ski bottoms, several times crossing open creeks, watching your guide tumble into a hole caused by a buried three-foot diameter tree, trying to avoid, but getting sucked into, that very same hole isn’t too much for one day… close but not too much. I was very inspired by the stories of all of the places the head guide, Monica, had skied and was glad to find out that I have no need to be embarrassed by the fact that I now own four pairs of cross-country skis. She proudly revealed that she was up to six! What an inspiration she is to me. And it turns out my seemingly absurd love of the sport is not unprecedented, she and her boyfriend (another of the guides at the Yellowstone Adventures Yurt Camp) go skiing in the Madison range, just outside of West Yellowstone on their days off! Did I mention how inspirational she is?
Chapter four: Record breaking snow fall in the Duluth region in February; I love skiing in the streets
It turns out that although Duluth didn’t hit its annual snow fall average of 78 inches this year, according to National Public Radio, Duluth was the seventh snowiest city in the US. Its February snow fall total of 36.7 inches was a record breaker! For me the best part of receiving so much snow in one month is that it made for great opportunities to ski the roads around town. For great street skiing you need about five inches of fresh snow on top of a well packed base. Having plow drivers that don’t think that getting out there right after a snow fall is a plus as well, and this February was perfect. I was able to cruise the roads and alleyways all over our tiny little berg several times. It was just like roller skiing — but on snow!
Chapter 5: How much skiing can I get in before the melt down starts; I love new adventures on my skis
With perfect temperatures and a monster base at the start of March, I figured it was time to attempt some ski trips I have wanted to do all winter but hadn’t yet had the chance. One such trip was attempting to ski some of the North Country National Scenic Trail, which passes through the Brule River State Forest just south of Lake Nebagamon where County Road S crosses the Brule River, a popular starting point for many a canoe trip on the river. The NCNST, or just NCT to many, starts in upstate New York and crosses the northern tier of states all the way to North Dakota, with about 100 miles passing through northern Wisconsin. It is mainly a summer trail but sees snowshoers, and now a skier, occasionally in the winter. I learned a lot on my two-hour, four-mile trek on March 17th. One thing that I learned is it is a lot more stressful when you have to follow a poorly marked trail without guides. Those folks earn their fee! Another thing is that trying to find a poorly marked trail with just your Garmin GPS in the middle of an oak scrub thicket is near impossible! Also, no matter the high-tech gadget in your hand, nothing beats an old-fashioned compass. Next time I attempt the NCT, I’m bringing mine. The second first-time trip I took before the snow melted was to ski the portion of the Douglas County state forest that passes just north of Lake Nebagamon. Thankfully there is an established and groomed snow mobile trail in the forest and I had a wonderful seven-mile ski from Railroad road on the east end of town through the forest, to County Road F and back. On this trip I learned that most snowmobilers are very courteous and willing to share the trail with a lone and slow (to them) skier, and that the rolling hills of the forest are gorgeous.
The End
Already beginning to write my ‘book’ of roller skiing the greater Lake Nebagamon area in 2019 it’s Caretaker Joe At Camp.