woo!

It has been gorgeous, sunny, and warm the past three/four weeks now. Three weekends ago, I went with some other geneticists to check out part of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail (not the most scenic place, but it was nice to get outside). Two weekends ago, I saw my entire yard sans snow for the first time since mid-December (and got to go curling with Emory folk - and yes, it really is as amazingly fun as it looks - no, this is not sarcasm). Last weekend, I got to go see lambs at a farm just outside of Madison (my loop back ended up being a bit longer than expected, so I got my first 100K bike ride of the year). And this entire month, I've been working out like mad and eating accordingly. Tis quite excellent, really.
Since a group of us have been coerced into running a half marathon in December, we've been jogging all over campus & our respective parts of town. The runs I go on tend toward the lake, which means that I not only get spectacular views of Madison (capitol building + city lights reflected off the lake = awesome) but I also get cool breezes off the still-thawing water. I'm surprised at how easy running seems now; I'm attributing that to all the weights/racquetball/swimming/frolicking that we started with. Anyhoo, I shall try to post a bit more about adventuring if I get a chance. At the least, I may get some curling and sheep pictures up soon.

Wisconsin is Awesome (in case you didn't know)

Tenney Park

People complain about the cold. A lot. I am not necessarily exempt from that, but dude, winter sports are awesome. Thanks to one of my classmates, I am now cross country skiing and skating with some adeptness (and by "some adeptness," I mean like an absolute goober - a goober who's having a blast). We've been skiing quite a bit, thanks to some pretty decent snow. Two weeks ago we had a thaw that ruined the snow, so once things refroze, we went skating at Tenney Park.

The person teaching me everything

Now Madison is wonderful for a number of reasons: the sheer number of microbreweries, one of the highest bike store per capitas out there, the friendliness, the university ice cream, and definitely the parks. You can rent skis/skates/etc everywhere, and while I own cross country skis now (and am working on skates), the ubiquitous-gear-rental-at-parks makes it so easy to get outside. That and the peer pressure from others in my program :)

Going uphill with another novice. In pink pants. Yes, I own pink pants.

Pictures are still slow in coming. Sorry, but I'm having way too much fun outside to stop for pictures. It's a good problem to have. You can imagine Elver Park and the Arboretum (my xc-ski favorites in town) as being slightly rolling toward the edges, with a pretty equal distribution of woods and fields. The woods tend to be more awesome, if ya ask me. The wind doesn't cut through quite as badly, and everything's a bit more quiet/secluded (as might be expected). Tenney Park is the one place I've been skating. I'm pretty sure the water comes from Lake Mendota, and when we went last weekend, we caught the sun setting over Madtown - complete with all those nice pinky-oranges and purples. It seemed like everybody and their brother was out on the ice. There was a large group of hockey people and another large group that was just meandering across the ice, under the bridges, and as far as they could get before reaching a barrier. Gotta say, skating outside is a lot more fun, a lot more challenging, and a lot easier to pick up than skating in zamboni-groomed rinks. The last part may be a function of the hockey and figure skating expertise of the folks I was with.

Not falling. Didn't fall the entire time. Hope to keep that up.

This weekend we're hitting the hockey classic (played on our flooded and frozen football field), Elver park for some skiing, and of course, catching the superbowl. While things have been pretty perfect up here, I think last weekend really cemented the home-ness of Wisconsin. The ecohouse is a tough group to beat, but I've reached the point where my friends up here sustain me. Bring it, snow.

Wahoooo!!

BLIZZARD!!!!!!

I found these beautiful trees on my walk this morning
Snowplows have been running very long shifts
This morning (the ill-defined snowbank in the foreground is at least knee deep)
Road last night
Greenery out front (pre 17-inches)
Yesterday evening's view through my neighborhood

WAAAHOOOOOOO!!!!!! Man, snow is fun. 17.5 inches of snow is really fun. The university is shut down. The city (and busses) are shut down. The state of Wisconsin is shut down (no school anywhere). This ginormous storm system rolled in from the west, split, and covered the entire state with crazy amounts of snow. The poor snow plow guys have been going since last night, and while the main thoroughfares are open, the neighborhood roads were great for cross-country skiing. Whenever I finally woke up this morning, I threw on some snow pants, and I've been going ever since. I walked around the neighborhoods (down the middle of the roads), built a rather insignificant snowman (big for Emory, pitiful when compared to what the neighborhood kids have going), attempted XC skiing for the first time (rather successfully, even if I did look ridiculous figuring it out), and then caught up with C from my program for a lovely snow-bank-climbing, knee-deep-drift-wading, absolutely-exhilarating walk through the neighborhoods and (eventually) to the grocery store. My snow boots work great, I'm pumped for the possibility of skiing on a groomed trail later this week, and I am officially worn out. No skiing pics since I tried that alone, and the other pics aren't the best quality since the sun stayed hidden most of the day. Hopefully, I'll have some solutions to those problems by the time I head south.

Thundersnow

We've had a few snows now. One in October, perhaps two in November, and several this week. The past few days I've watched as the national weather service has issued winter storm watches, warnings, and, to my amusement, "society-impacting" blizzard warnings. I've sat by the windows watching flakes serenely drift downwards, and I've spent time tromping across slippery walks to and from bus stops. Last night, I feverishly set a spiriling path through our glistening front yard, occasionally drifting back to my car in the driveway for a fresh glovefull of snow to eat. This afternoon, I watched the sixth inch of snow land. (We've had more, but it seems a fair amount has be claimed by the mud, salt, sand, and occasional sun.)
But tonight. Oh, tonight was wonderful. As I went about my evening ritual, I paused for a moment to check the snow accumulation. The street lamp across the road illuminated the tunnel of bare deciduous trees that line the drive, all covered with a thick glaze of powder. The road itself was barely defined, a tumbling tread and a snow bank near the far curb. Where plenty of green was visible on the hedges around dinner time, there now remains a lumpy white rectangle. The evergreens near houses are coated, suitable for storybook illustrations. And all is quiet. The snowplows have surrendered, and the only li k to any sort of reality is the out-of-place but ever-important street light. How else could I see the wonderland that exists past my window?
And out of this peaceful surreality, a clap of thunder. Thundersnow. That was in the predictions. All the serenity of snow with the sheer power of a storm. A wind picks up. The trees shake their ghost-arms, yet the snow stays firmly upon the limbs. Perhaps it even glings stubbornly, with an air of rebellion against the storm. The breeze continues, more softly. While the ghost-arms wave gently now, deciduous branches give off small puffs of their white cover. The evergreens keep their blankets tight around them. The world I'm visiting is broken by the movement, the snow no longer calm. Still, I take one last draw from the filled-up, covered-over, pushed-aside world. With that, I rest

And this is why it's a good thing that I never got into creative writing.

Governor Dodge

This is what Wisconsin looks like

Really now, where would you expect to find me?
Stephens Falls from the Top

Awesomeness

A- after some awesome vine swinging
T- before we started the second hike
View From the Rim (fuzzy, sorry)
Also from the rim

What a trek. So T-, A-, and I all headed over to Governor Dodge State Park (one of the larger ones with more miles of trails) today. We were planning a 6-8 mile jaunt through the woods, and while we got our jaunt, I'm guessing it was closer to 18 miles. Pretty much all of the trails were sidewalk-width, and there were surprisingly few rocks and roots along the way. The trees have lost all their leaves, but that made it pretty easy to see down into and out of the canyon. It also made it an excellent crunchy-leaf hike. :) We took the Lost Canyon Trail first, hiked along the rim of the canyon for a bit, and then came down the far mouth of the canyon. There's a tiny (if peaceful) stream inside, some amazing-looking rock along the sides, and plenty of rocks/logs to clamor around on just off the trail. That 8ish miles took us just over (maybe just under) 2 hours, so we took our lunch at Stephens Falls. It may not be the most majestic falls (granted, we haven't exactly had a ton of rain lately), but it was a fun spot. When it warms up, I fully intend to frolic in the pool at its base and get as far behind the falls as possible. I half-heartedly tried the latter today and got moderately wet. Once thoroughly cold, we packed up the food, and decided to head off on the Outer Horse Trail (which might actually be more rugged than the hiking/skiing trail was). Once out a little on the Outer loop, we decided to go for a OHT to Goldmine Trail to Meadow Valley to Woodland to OHT loop that brushed against the part of the canyon we had seen, hit a lake we had missed earlier, and then criss-crossed in and out of the gorge a few more times coming back. (A- theorizes that we crossed the canyon about 6 times today.) I must admit my legs are pretty worn out, but I also must admit that I feel soooo much better since getting outside. It was an awesome day to do a hike; I had some awesome company; and we got some awesome food and margaritas post-hike.

Bonus Question: We saw a lot of these purple brambles along the trail (with a fine, light purple coating I assume is some kind of natural yeast). What are they?

Chilly Wolf

Over Halloween, I headed up to the Wolf River (sections 2 and 3) for some awesome paddling. The forecast was for cold and blustery weather, and though we left Madison with some balmy weather, it did get cold pretty quickly. I left my camera behind, so you'll just have to take my word for everything. I caught a ride up with another Madison kayaker, and we got to Bear Paw (pretty cool boater hangout) somewhat late Friday night. The wind was kicking, so I camped out in a friend's truck rather than trying to set my tent up, and at 2 in the morning when the wind started pushing the car around like mad, I was quite happy to be well-sheltered. Though it took a while, I eventually passed out. Woke up the next morning to driving snow (and lots of it) and headed over to the local restaurant in White Lake (just outside of the National Forest). It was bicyclist heaven - ginormous pancakes, excellent eggs, good coffee, and lots and lots of really cheap food. The snow was on-again off-again post breakfast, which meant that after standing around for upwards of an hour at the put in, I was cold and wet. There were tons of canoeists looking quite cozy in their drysuits. At least they were taking their precious time getting ready as though it was a lovely summer day. The water level was double that which I tried back in September, and while it did make a lot of places significantly easier (fewer rocks to avoid/less picking your way through boulder gardens), it still didn't provide much of a current on the flats. And man, there were some flats. Think 6 rapids and 14-18 miles of water. Yup. It was pretty painful.
First day was Section 3 (full version). The rapids were more fun with water, but toward the end, I was getting pretty hypothermic, wasn't thinking well, and flipped by being stupid. Luckily the swim was on the very last rapid, so I got dry and warm quickly. Second day was Section 2 (also full version), and I have to say, I am not a fan. Short 2 and 3 are definitely the way to go. (I'm also tempted to see the Dells of Section 4 now.) Also, complements of Connie, I have the Northern Wisconsin Natural History Lesson of the Day. Rivers in N Wisc are supposed to look black if they're healthy (and the Wolf does look eerily black). The coloration comes from all the tannins that leach into the water from the fallen leaves. It's a kinda cool phenomenon.
Next boating adventure may not be until spring :( However, I have been promised cross country skiing by a classmate. Woot.

Wisconsin Adventurin'

Gearin' up

Bony, eh?

So, after I finished up my last rotation (yes, I know that was a month ago), I rewarded myself with some pretty fun whitewater up in the middle-to-northern part of the state. Caught up with some Sierra Clubbin' folk (Can you see John Muir at a dance party? Cause I can.) and some Mad-City Paddlers and hit the Wolf (best of section II and III - aka a few good rapids, a car-portage, and a few more good rapids) and the Red Rivers. We camped out at some National Forest campsite that had some killer lakeside sunsets and crazy-tough tent sites.

Lakeside sunset (there was a wider view, it wasn't as pretty)

Patchwork

We showed up at the campground late Friday night, and I bent something like 4 stakes before giving up and doing a crappy I-hope-this-stays-balanced set up of my definitely-non-freestanding tent. Oh, and it was cold and rainy Friday, too. Thankfully, my tent stayed up and my sleeping bag was warm enough. Saturday, we hit the Wolf sections, which were below suggested flow. I think about half my boat is still stuck to the rocks up there. Perhaps it was the low water, but these rivers just don't have much when compared to my beloved southeast. AW claims some III+ rapids exist on the sections we ran, but there would have to be substantially more water than there was. Anyhoo, we had plenty of pool in the pool-drop water, but the drops were fun. There were forgiving enough beancans that I got my not-much-of-a-surf on, and the surroundings were beautifully fall patchworked. I was accompanied by a lot of rec boaters with one or two serious whitewater dudes. We cleaned up a lot of yard sales, but everyone was pretty chill about it. Boyscout, Hansen's, and Gilmore's Mistake were all pretty entertaining rapids, and the fun ones were conviniently located for multiple runs. Friday night, we hit some local dive that had amazing steak (granted, I don't think I've had steak since the bike trip), and I really enjoyed the post-river hangout. There was some great company.

Flat

Gilmore's

Sunday morning, I crawled out of the tent, packed up, and enjoyed yet another sunrise by the lake before meeting up with the same folks to go run the Red River. Thankfully, the Red is dam-controlled, so we had enough water that I wasn't constantly apologizing to my little boat. It was more pool-drop, but the rapids seemed a little more creeky and fun. Monastery and Ziemer's Falls kicked butt, and I have a suspicion that First Ledge would be pretty sticky with higher water, too. (Monastery videos found here, complements of Larry.) Anyhoo, I met 2 couples that are some of the friendliest people I've met since moving, and plenty of other fun characters to go boating with - hurray! Come spring, I'll probably try to paddle with the Hoofers some as well. Sadly, there will never be anyone to match up with the King and Queen of the South Fork, but I suppose I'll have to cope.

Monastery

Ziemer's

This weekend (Yes, Halloween. Yes, I'm passing up way too many parties. Yes, I know Madison is renowned for its Halloween. Yes, I know it will be frigid.), I'm joining some of the same people on the Wolf. This time, it will be the entire stretches of sections II and III. Someday, I'll work up to section IV, but right now those falls just look scary.