It's Summer!!!

My posts have been pretty sparse during this long, cold spring.  After the Birkie, Ali and I had several more weekends of XC skiing and one local downhill ski trip.  The snow started melting in mid-late March; we had several weeks of rain in April; and the ice cleared off the lakes in early May if I remember correctly.  (Lake Superior is still chock-full of ice, and the Porkies still have patches of thigh-deep snow.)

During the melt and rain, we mostly stayed huddled in the apartment, but every now and then we'd get a good weekend for a hike/bike.  Thankfully, the past couple weeks have been stunningly warm and sunny.  We've been getting our (newly acquired - thanks Mom!) hammocks out, and as of Memorial Day, Lake Mendota is finally warm enough to take Hoofers' gear out (55F water temps).

Over the holiday weekend, we were up on the Pike, Peshtigo, Wolf and Red rivers for the annual Hoofers trip.  I think both Ali & I were feeling a bit rusty, but we both still managed to level up in the Hoofers rating system.  (Our rolls have vastly improved, but we both made some pretty rookie mistakes over the weekend.)

This year's trip included my first kayak descent of Wolf Section IV, and the water level was just about perfect.  There were a few sticky hydraulics, but the rocks were all covered, and the lines through the rapids were clear cut.  Granted, I still managed to swim above the last falls of the run, but I swam to the river bank before getting into any trouble.

Also for the first time in a while, the Hoofers trip ran perfectly.  Everybody got up and ready in a timely fashion; dinner got a head start every evening; and the groups were kept running pretty tightly on-river.

I'll have to try to get a few more good boating trips in before I head to Idaho later this summer; probably another Wolf IV trip, and if my schedule can handle it, maybe even a trip down to the Ocoee.

Pics are here: 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/60732531@N00/sets/72157644470122770/

Octagonia Block

As Ali & I have been tweaking the plans for our picnic quilt (make it smaller, add more little blocks, get rid of some of the non-vibrant colors), we've also been trying to figure out the perfect center block for our quilt.  The Octagonia Block (which we originally found on Craftsy) has been in contention the whole time, and now that I committed to making a 16" version, the Octagonia will definitely be filling the middle of the quilt.

 

Though it does require paper piecing, the block is relatively simple.  There are three different segments to paper piece; once you're done making four copies of each segment, it's just a matter of sewing the segments into 4 rectangles and arranging those rectangles around a center square.  Shockingly, this only took me two sittings to make.  (I'm sure more competent seamstresses could finish a block in an hour or two.)

There are a ton of color variations that look great with the block, too.  I'll have to keep it in mind for later projects.

American Birkebeiner

OO - The halfway point

Many people would not consider 54 kilometers a pleasant weekend ski.  Most folks I know would not want to dedicate 3-9 hours of a Saturday to playing outside on a day where the base temps aren't going past 14F and the winds are hefty.  Few towns cover their main streets in a foot of snow on purpose, and fewer still muster everyone in the surrounding counties to stand in the freezing cold to cheer for a bunch of spandex-clad loonies.  While the Birkie is not the only ski-marathon out there, it is Wisconsin's gold standard for a reason.
Every year, over 10,000 skiers gather (often pre-dawn to catch a shuttle) for the American Birkebeiner.  They're promised an outstanding (and rather hilly) course - 50k for the skate skiers and 54k for the classic skiers, a gazillion spectators, all the Heed/water/bananas/oranges/Nilla Wafers/Gu they can stomach, numerous course-side adult-beverage opportunities, and, generally, one heck of a race.  The best skiers will usually finish in 2-2.5 hours.  And while there are shorter/flatter race options to choose from in the upper-Midwest, everybody focuses on the 30+ miles between Cable and Hayward, WI.
A couple years back (and my second year of skiing), Ali and I launched ourselves into the Birkie.  We were in great shape; the snow was perfect; and it was FREEZING.  We made it past the halfway point (which is where the course supposedly levels out) but had to pull the plug at Mosquito Brook Road since (a) Ali was freezing and (b) my legs were about to collapse.  That being said, the course was fast - our first split had us going 7min/k vs the 8min/k we did this year.
This year, we were far more prepared.  My skiing skills were far, far more honed; my new skis were far superior to my old skis; we'd been tackling longer training skis; the weather allowed us to do more skiing near Madison; and we had brought far more appropriate apparel. 
Getting up to Cable was a harrowing experience in itself, this year.  The Thursday before the Birkie, mid- to northern-Wisconsin experienced a bit of a snowpacolypse.  There was over a foot of fresh snow, and the plows just could not keep up.  When we were driving up on Friday, the roads were covered in about 4-6" of ice.  Traffic plodded along on the interstate and state highways, with the more daring/foolish drivers going 45-50mph.  We managed to swing by registration and still make our cabin just before sunset.  We ate well, slept cold, and roused ourselves around 6 so that we would make the start in time (our wave started at 9:30).
The weather was beastly for the event organizers.  The groomers had a marathon of their own trying to get the snow packed and set for the Saturday race, and while their efforts were noble, many skiers were less than happy with the results. To make matters worse, the hospitality (aka heated) tents at the start and finish both got blown down Friday night.
Thankfully, the tents were back up by the time Ali and I needed them, and they were shockingly warmer than the old resort that used to host skiers at the start.  That didn't keep me from needing a pair of warmers for my giant, downhill ski mitts at the oh-so-windy start.  We timed the walk to the start line just about perfectly, though, and were into the sheltered woods climbing giant hills in no time.
The first 10-15k are really packed for recreational skiers like us.  We get to fight for trail space with everyone doing the (shorter) Kortelopet, and there tend to be silly pile-ups on hills.  Since the Birkie is on constantly-rolling terrain for the first half, this translates to a lot of traffic and a lot of time spent slogging along behind slower folks.  (Considering that Ali and I are pretty slow, it's just bizarre when we get stuck between 30+ other people.)  During this first bit, there are some really lovely twists and turns in the woods and some really fun powerline hills.  Just before the first rest stop (and just after those power-line hills), we stopped and took off the heaviest of our layers.  By the second rest stop, I was down to a small number of base layers.
Once the Korte skiers turned back, our trip became much nicer.  The skate trail was still separated, and we started segregating into small packs of similarly-paced skiers.  Unfortunately, this was also the point that the cold really got to my airway, and my breakfast-energy ran out.  Eventually, I called Ali back to distract me and went into zombie mode.  I couldn't manage much more than putting one foot in front of the other.  I tried to get sufficient Gu and Heed into me at the rest stop, but I really didn't start feeling human until after I had some real food (hooray for bringing brownies) at the halfway point.  I realize I'm not the average Birkie skier (i.e. I'm willing to stop and munch on something), but the aid stations could use more food.
Unfortunately, as soon as I perked up, Ali started getting worse for the wear.  I had abandoned her at the halfway point since I was getting chilled, and after her push to catch back up, she was just out of energy.  We got some more Gu eventually and made it past "Bitch Hill" to the last cut-off with time to spare.  The first third of the race is scenic and hilly; the second third is reasonably wooded and rolling; and the final stretch is flat and exposed but incredibly reassuring.
We wisely layered up at the last rest stop.  The last few kilometers take you over a lake and straight into downtown Hayward.  The lake is bitterly exposed, and the sun was heading toward the horizon just as we finished.  It's pretty traditional for some locals to head out on the lake and hand out shots to skiers as they're coming in.  Though we abstained earlier in the course, the cheap booze was just what we needed to get across the lake to the finish.  From 40km on, I knew that we were going to finish, and I think we were both elated to make the lake.
Even though we were finishing pretty late in the day and pretty low in the standings, there were still tons of people lining Main Street and cheering us home.  This was apparently one of the toughest/slowest Birkies in recent years.  The snow conditions added anywhere from 30 min - 2 hours to peoples' time, and 20% of registered skiers didn't make it to the finish.
We had a great day playing out in the snow.  The woods were gorgeous; the sun kept us reasonably warm; and, best of all, we managed to finish the American Birkebeiner.

Lake Superior (Now Complete with Ice Caves!)

A set of Hoofers headed up to Lake Superior for some excellent pre-thaw adventure this past weekend.  We gathered our gear and started our trek Saturday morning.  That evening, we were going to head out on Lake Superior for the Book Across the Bay 10km snowshoe.  BATB is an annual ski/snowshoe race/meander that starts in Ashland, WI and ends in Washburn.  Though we planned to swing by our cabin on the way in and make our way to the bus shuttle in a rather leisurely manner, we ended up barely making the last shuttle and were literally the last people to start the course.  (Alas, we had forgotten the Ps - Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.)

 

 Luckily, once we were on the course, things went relatively smoothly.  There was a storm system in the area that dumped snow both before and after the race, but during the race we really only had to deal with wind and occasional fog.  The full moon provided some light, but the course was largely marked by some really pretty ice-luminaries.  There were good-sized bonfires (yes, large fires on the iced-over surface of Lake Superior) every kilometer, and what the rests lacked in cocoa, they made up in oreos and animal crackers.

 Superior has the best ice coverage (94% as of this weekend) in at least 20 years, and since the ice caves along the Apostle Island National Lakeshore were accessible for the first time in 5 years, we took advantage of the conditions on Sunday for another bit of exploration (with 11,000 of our closest friends).  The ice caves are a huge draw for folks in the Midwest.  Last year, the Apostle Islands had ~150,000 visitors over the course of the year.  This month alone, the Apostles have had >50,000 people coming to see the ice caves (and that wasn't even counting this past weekend, which was expected to bring in another 15,000+ people).

 The ice on Superior opened around January 15, and since then, a small army of rangers have been monitoring the ice, keeping an eye out for the visitors, and trying to manage parking near the shore.  Local municipalities have started shuttles with nearly every vehicle they can find, and boy is it worth the trip.  The southern shore of Superior has some amazing rock formations, and when the wind and waves conspire with frigid temperatures, the shore develops some spectacular jewelry.

A Hoofer trying to avoid wet feet

 There are a bunch of nooks, crannies, and tunnels that are just full of different ice formations.  Tons of adults were having their fill of climbing, crawling, and sliding, but the kids were in hog heaven since 90% of the openings were just the right size for those under 13.

Ice Slide!!

 We found one overhanging rock draped in ice that had enough room for 4-6 adults in the chamber behind it, several small rooms that were glazed in the smoothest ice imaginable, a couple of low caverns covered in nubby icicles, and (my favorite) this cool little tunnel that connected two inlets - the far side had spiky icicles where baby icicles were growing sideways off the original piece.

 The trip from the parking lot to the first of the ice caves is a mile long; the ice caves go on for something like 2-3 miles; and though we didn't have time to see the entire span, we still had a good long meander from our parking spot.  There were a couple of guys who had even hiked out to one of the islands for some winter camping.

 The conditions have been perfect this year, and if I'm ever in the area again when the ice caves open, it'll definitely be on my list of places to go for the year.

Heading into the overhanging-rock cave

Behind the ice

The alternate entrance

Spiky & Fuzzy Icicles

Skiing @ Kettle Moraine - Lapham Peak Unit

Around sunset, this patch of trees turned blazing red.

Lapham Peak is a lovely state park/XC ski area just west of the Milwaukee 'burbs - about an hour's drive out from Madison.  This past weekend was the first time I got to see the entirety of Lapham Peak (as opposed to the small, manufactured-snow loop that I've visited in past, crummy-snow years).  I get the impression that every skate-skier who lives on the west side of Milwaukee spends all of their time at Lapham Peak since there was some pretty packed ice under a thin layer of recent snow.  There are at least 16 miles of (groomed) trail, and since the park runs along the edge of a moraine, the trails spend most of their time zigzagging up and down a small ridge (e.g. a great place to train for events like the Birkie).
 I ended up skiing somewhere around 17-20 miles with breaks for lunch and tea.  The classic track was in need of a good grooming (thanks to some skate skiers and a ton of oak leaves), but the hills kept me out of the track a fair portion of the time, anyways.

Skate skiers climbing Asthma Hill

Some community members have rather expertly annotated the trails:  you start with the "Gut-Buster" climb, pass "Target Tree" on a curvy downhill, and are bound to run into other spots like "The Wall," "Asthma Hill," and "Stairway to Heaven" - which sends you on a double loop of the hilliest bit of trail in the park.  "Roller Coaster" lived up to it's name, though it took me a second pass before I was willing to careen down some of the rollers with enough momentum to get up the next hill.  I've also got to admit that "Big Slide" is now my favorite XC downhill.  It's a somewhat gradual grade and a largely straight shot, but it just keeps going and going.
The temperatures were pleasantly in the teens (+ sun), but the 20+ mph wind certainly kept us moving.  The guys in the warming hut maintained a pleasant fire, which also served as a great glove warmer and breath-sicle thawing machine.

Late-afternoon

The group of folks I rode out with were the first ones there and the last ones left.  Two of us even had the good luck to crest the ridge just in time for the sunset (which was spectacular).  All in all, a lovely ski.  It's definitely worth the drive when there's fresh snow, and I imagine it would be just as good when freshly-groomed.

Snails Trail & Interlaced Star

I've finally stopped crashing during my weekend down-time and re-started my quilting with a couple of easy 12" blocks.  There are great tutorials out there for both blocks (http://theelvengarden.blogspot.com/2012/02/snail-trail-block-tutorial.html and http://www.haveyoumetus.net/michelle/blog/?p=1796), so I'll just show off the finished products.

Snail's Trail

Interlaced Star

The quilt is now 15% complete by # of blocks and 43% by area!

Skiing in Ironwood

In preparation for the American Birkebeiner, Ali and I have been skiing all over the place: Gov. Nelson State Park on the far side of Lake Mendota (debris-filled trip w/ Hoofers), Stoney Swamp and Gatineau Park outside of Ottawa (spectacular scenery w/ Ali's family), Blue Mounds State Park (once w/ Therese after a good snow, once with Hoofers after a bad sleet), and a couple times to our after-work/bus-accessible favorite, Elver Park.  In lieu of Christmas presents, Ali & I decided to take the MLK weekend and head up to Ironwood, MI (which is on the NW side of the UP, spittin' distance from the Wisconsin border).  We planned for two days of XC skiing, and since the snow is plentiful and soft along the UP, one day to introduce me to downhill skiing. 

Chilly morning

There's this fantastic private XC ski area in Ironwood called ABR that  has nearly 70km of well-groomed XC trail.  With the 54-kilometer Birkie in mind, we were hoping to ski at least 20 miles on Saturday, and though the last several kilometers were exhausting, we made it!  I can't begin to describe how lovely it was on Saturday.  The morning started off a little chilly, but we had our thermos of tea and a day-pack full of warm layers and world-famous pastys.  (Seriously, the iron-mining regions of Wisconsin and the UP are known for their pastys.)  The sun was out, and the woods had recently been filled with really big flakes of sparkly snow.  If you paid close enough attention to the mounds of snow on the evergreens, you could still see individual flakes.  Additionally, ABR was far enough out that there wasn't the usual rumble of snowmobiles.

Awesome ABR Tracks

We covered approximately 37km/23mi of ground, including nearly all of the classic-only trails.  The track was laid a bit too curvy on some of the classic trails (I'm looking at you, Otter Slide), and if I really wanted to complain, the classic+skate trails could have skipped classic tracking on some of the steep and twisty downhills.  (There are two type of cross country skiing techniques that require different skis and different snow grooming.  For classic - aka striding - technique, there are generally two parallel tracks that you keep your skis in while you move your legs vaguely like you might be walking or jogging.  For skating, you push off with one foot and glide at a ~45 degree angle before planting the next foot and gliding off in the other direction.  If classic track is too sharply-curved, your ski won't fit in the track, and if there's track going down a steep and winding hill, it takes a fair amount of skill to not careen off of the track and into the woods.)

Aptly named "The Wall" - we had to sidestep up most of this one

Kibitzing aside, ABR was awesome.  They groom nearly every day; they have enough trail for several good days of skiing before you have to repeat any route; the terrain is varied, quiet, and beautiful; and they have all the amenities you really need.  I would go back in a heartbeat.

Thankfully, though cross-country skiing can make you tired and sore, you never feel like you've been hit by a semi the next day.  We had a leisurely morning on Sunday, and made it out to Whitecap Mountains Ski Resort (30min west of Ironwood) for their half-day ski.  The edge of the UP does have some pretty nice hills, but this is the Midwest.  At a place like Whistler, you can expect ~5000ft of vertical; it's closer to 3000 at Vail/Breckinridge; and the best place in the Midwest (the Porkies, an hour east of  Ironwood) weighs in at a whopping 600-something feet.  According to my in-house downhill expert, this just means that the easy/intermediate runs may be similar in difficulty, but corresponding runs will be much shorter in Flatlandia.

Going really slow

Until this year, I was not thrilled about the prospect of downhill anything.  Skiing and snowboarding are notoriously injury-prone sports; I don't like going fast; I haven't been very good at snowplowing on cross-country skis; and I'm not a huge fan of mountains that have resort-induced stripes.  Within the past year, however, I've become much better at stopping and steering on XC skis, so I decided to give downhill a try.  I'm kinda glad that I did.  (And I'm really glad that I learned XC first.)  Thanks to some stellar instruction, I could handle the green runs pretty quickly.  (You might just want to ignore my assessment; I could avoid falling, but I'm still probably terrible.)  And though I may not be great at staying upright on blue runs yet, there's definitely a glimmer of hope.  Every time we hit a Goldilocks hill that was steep enough to be fun but not steep enough to be terrifying, I would descend yelling "Whee!" at every turn.  I'm sure that Ali was quite thrilled to be associated with me.

XC Skiing:  Hot & thirsty work

Though my muscles weren't complaining much about downhill skiing, the weekend caught up to me on Monday.  We headed part of the way home before picking up our second XC ski day at Nine Mile Rec Area outside of Wausau, WI.  They also have a large, well-groomed trail system (about 30k).  Nine Mile isn't too hilly, though they do have a small loop nicknamed "The Alps" that zigzags up and down a ridge.  The weather had gotten chilly for our last day, and since the terrain was largely flat and definitely set up for logging, the winds cut right through us.  After 15-18k, we decided to call it a day.  I felt a bit bad cutting our ski short, but there are several more weekends before Feb 22.