Freezin' in Wisconsin Weekend

“Snow Tiger, Many regrets that we will not see you! I was looking forward to our paths crossing once more.... but it shall have to wait for yet another day. Take care of yourself.”

“;-P”

“I may cruise uo on Saturday”

“Alrighty, geocaching friends came through on my "snow condition" request:

As for snow conditions--check this site.

http://www.skinnyski.com

You can go to "trails," then "trail reports" then look around for the drop down menu for southwestern WI. There are usually reports for the BRF State Forest Trails in there. I'm guessing based on right now, conditions are good.
last edited: 1/03/08 12:06:09 PM”

“OK, here's what's posted on that website:

Tomah area [ forecast/conditions ]
Jan 1 - Black River Falls State Forest (Millston):
Conditions: Excellent, best I've seen it in 5-6 years.
Perfect place to ski on a windy cold day with all of the trees. The trail is narrow in places for skating, but with an outer loop of 25K you can't complain.
(Scott Cooper)
Dec 30 - Black River Falls State Forest (Millston):
Conditions: Well groomed and nicely packed. A few trails are a bit soft but still in excellent shape.
I skied all the trails except the ridge trail which was not groomed. The main trails are packed well and in great shape. I skied for almost three hours and only saw one other skier. The trees were coated with snow and beautiful. Great trails and exceptional scenery.
(Lance Ellmann)
Dec 29 - Black River Falls State Forest (Millston):
Conditions: Soft but excellent.
Drove one and a half hours to check out Black River. Really glad we did! Skied the North and Central Loops that are an easy, enjoyable ski. Norway Pine reminded me of Hoffman Hills. The Ridge trail is not groomed and is like back country skiing from what I heard. Quiet, scenic place! Check it out.
(Dan Gainey)
Dec 29 - Black River Falls State Forest (Millston):
Conditions: Excellent.
Three inches of new snow from yesterday was being groomed when I was there at midday. Skate lane still pretty soft, but bomber classic tracks. I love these trails. So glad to see them with plenty of snow. Didn't see rock, root, or dirt on the whole system.
(Pete Anderson)
Dec 28 - Black River Falls State Forest (Millston):
After driving for 3 hours in fresh snow we finally made it to Millston; and it was well worth the drive--the classic tracks on the north and central trails were well skied in, which made for a great day of classic skiing...Rode Blue was the ticket! We also skied the ridge trail, which is simply beautiful, but he drifts made for slow skiing; the new warming cabin is awesome. Happy skiing!
(Karen Manske)
Dec 27 - Black River Falls State Forest (Millston):
Conditions: Excellent classic and skate.
Skied the North, Central, South, Norway Pine, and Wildcat trails. Lots of snow; firm, deep and powdery classic tracks; skate lane looked firm on Norway Pine and Wildcat, still a bit soft on other trails. But overall conditions terrific. One of the most scenic trails in Wisconsin. North, Central and South rolling with gradual climbs and fun descents. Norway Pine and Wildcat have stiff climbs and fast descents. Terrific flow, and very fun trails. The new warming house is great. Thanks, Marty, for that generous donation.
(Pete Anderson)”

“Sounds absolutley pristine and beautiful. Remind me to throw a few extra handfulls of bottlerockets between the beer cooler and the shotgun mounted on my ATV. I got some new tires on it and want to try them out, They really tear #&%!$ up!
last edited: 1/03/08 12:46:45 PM”

“this was what i had hoped for when i scheduled this trip. i remain hopeful for saturday. thanks lizs for that post and the web site you dug up through your contacts.”

“lizs, private messaged you on the other side.

mountainrunner, did you move to gb area?

lorax, you are like a god to me.
last edited: 1/03/08 1:41:44 PM”

“Hey all!!
Have a good safe time.
We'll be down south on the Adena Trace and thinking of ya!!
Jimmy, I might even give ya a call, lol
Gonna have some big fire, ya buddy!!
See ya later.
Randall
last edited: 1/03/08 3:39:57 PM”

“god help me but i love randall... my hero! i have NEVER laughed so hard as i have at his stories.”

“yeah...I guess randall is funny :P”

“yeah...I guess randall is funny :P”

“I'm still hoping I can make it there by 5-5:30 tonight. It all depends on how work goes today.

Snowtiger, It would have been great to meet up again. I'm sure I'll see you sometime this spring at KM.

I have to check the weather and try and figure out what kind of clothing I should bring. Down parka or wetsuit?”

“yeah lorax. sorry. 3 hour drive in the dark on not so great roads was too much pain to go slush camping. lake superior is only 2 hours from here. i probably won't get free til tomorrow anyway. maybe just run up to high cliff.

we'll catch up soon. ever hike the harrison hills?”

“Who is snowtiger and where is he/she from?

Tarabull and I are not too far from Hogsback. You might have to bring snowshoes for that one.”

“weather.com has moved the rain area off to the SE on Sunday with no rain in the area on Saturday. It will be a little warm, but it should be a great day for camping on Sat! Liz & I should be there Sat around 11am.”

“indeed the forecast has shaped up nicely. prosecutor will have some good skiing today and temps for overnight camping will be nice. i am really looking forward to seeing everyone but i won't be rolling in until 10pm as i can't leave here until i get off work. i might be able to knock off early but i have to check with my boss.”

“Decided not to hotel it. Not sure if I'll make it up to camp tonight or will drive early early on Saturday and camp Saturday night.

Who is still on the snowshoe path?

What time is the hike targeted to begin?

Pardon my ignorance.”

“god help me but i love randall... my hero! i have NEVER laughed so hard as i have at his stories.”
Jimmy san

...and you can hear the same story 5 times and it's still funny cause it canges everytime LOL”

“I will be on the "snowshoe" path, though I don't have snowshoes. I'll be hiking, and I have a dog.

I'll be getting there sometime tonight, probably around 5pm. Looking forward to seeing you all.”

“Snowshoes for dryfoot and I, although I'll also be ready to just plain ole hike. dryfoot also will have XC skis along.”

“the plan is that we will meet up at pigeon creek on friday night. we'll leave from here saturday for hiking/skiing/whatever. we will meet up at the red oak shelter on saturday night to share stories about the day and generally celebrate!

if there is a change of plans a note will be left on a car in the red oak parking lot.”

“i'll add that i didn't want to plan a hike that i wasn't going to hike (since i will be skiing). i recommended a hike to weber flowage and some basic logistics on the trip page, but i don't know if this is what people will want to do once they get there. that said, the hike to weber flowage and back is a solid days hike hence my recommendation for a bailout vehicle (in case it's too much) and an early start.”

“I spent a glorious night at Pigeon Creek last night...the only drawback is the constant drone of I94...it was 15 or so, clear and beautiful...I drove back to Black River Falls as I wanted to check my mail...my Mom is getting her third chemo treatment and I wanted to find out things were going as well as could be expected...which they were...

When you come, bring a shovel...there are only about 3 campsites that are plowed out and yours truly has one of them...snow is about a foot plus deep...plenty of dry wood for sale in the shed...no water...

I repeat NO WATER! bring your own! I tried the hand pump but it did not move...

The skiing should be beautiful...snowshoeing a blast!

You wimp, snowtiger...a 20% chance of drizzle means there's an 80% chance of no drizzle...I would bet, from the sky around here, on no drizzle...and, by the way, the winds yesterday were predicted to be 25-30mph but the wood around the campground neatly blocked most of it...

See you guys!
last edited: 1/04/08 9:21:57 AM”

“Thanks, Mata.

See you all Saturday!”

“I'm thinking - and let me know if this is wrong, JimmySan - that it's kind of a do your own thing.

For everyone there as the camp at Pigeon Creek is struck and then things taken in and set up at Red Oak Shelter, well, it seems they could all snowshoe or ski together.

I'd think others getting there at different times (like us... although ya never know... someone may be setting up yet at Red Oak) would set up, then go snowshoe or ski on their own. Perhaps running into the group, but perhaps not. Of course, we'd all show up sooner or later for the evening at Red Oak Shelter.

Is that in any way, shape or form correct??? LOL!”

“I'm just goin with the flow, I'll show up tonight, hang out, campfire, whatever... tomorrow, I'll do some hiking with whoever wants to go wherever, whatever happens works for me.”

“I'll be hitting the road here in a few minutes, not goin straight there - gotta stop at a few places, but I should be there around 4 or 5.”

“isolo, I hope you make it, I've got two days of meetings for work down your way in two weeks, a Fri and Sat. I think we should go out and see what trouble we could get into.

Hopefully I'm officially DFR in about 2 hours.”

“Just talked to mountainrunner, he's on his way now. I should be 2.5 hours behind him.”

“Yep, I'm going!!

The car is all packed, and my manager said I can call in at 3:30 pm. to see if I can take off. If it's a go, then I'll be at Pigeon Creek Campgrounds around 6:30-7:00p.m. If not,
It'll be Saturday morning.

I'm still trying to decide if I want to pull my pulk sled or just hump my gear, so I piled everything in the car!! I'm
such an unorganized slob!

Every time I take a road trip, I never fail to spill coffee all over the crotch of my blue jeans. That's always a good look when stopping in at the Pine Cone Plaza for a Bismark and Cruller! LOL”

“I see how it's going to be. All you guys are going to get there way before me. You'll all be laughing, carrying on, cooking dinner up, sippin' fine whiskey....

Talkin' smack about me.




rat bastages!
last edited: 1/04/08 10:46:51 AM”

“Hey Lorax,

I'll be on vacation when you're in town, so that sounds like a plan. We need to get griz to join us.”

“i have planned a lot of tt trips and i can't decide if it's like "pushing a rope" or "herding cats"... but either option is no fun... and as snowtiger said earlier it's all about having fun!

i focus on doing my best to provide some basic logistics and to make sure everyone has an opportunity to be informed about the place we are meeting (rules, travel logistics, etc) and to have a good time. i am not in charge and don't direct the activities of the group or individuals. i am just providing some basic logistics and coordination to help everyone out. in the end the trip is what you make of it... and i think this one is shaping up to be a CLASSIC winter adventure.”

“That's one mighty fine mission statement, Jimmysan.

See you in a few hours.”

“Yes, Jimmy. Thank you for all the work you put into this outing. I can't wait to meet all the new folks!

I'm going to gamble and start heading out now. I'll be about an hour out of town if I'm told I have to work. Then I guess I'll have to head back. LOL

If my gambling works, I should be there around 5:30-6:00 pm

I'm out.”

“mata, i know yer history. compared to you, who ISN'T a wimp. :P

sorry honey.

also dhutch; sorry i will miss ya, di.
last edited: 1/04/08 12:15:03 PM”

“mata, i know yer history. compared to you, who ISN'T a wimp. :P

i know that feeling very well... she never fails to tell me a story that has be going, "say what?!?!" love it!”

“snowtiger, are you talking about the Harrison Hills section of the IAT??? I've never hiked it, but I know someone who has; if you need info. I've been by there, it's a beautiful area and definately a section I plan to do.”

“A classic winter adventure, eh?


I think I definiatly need to stay home on this one then! LMAO!

I've had enough classic adventures with that crew for a while! ;)
last edited: 1/04/08 7:20:30 PM”

“At the Surise Cafe now with the crew posting from my BlackBerry... What a great trip! Perfect weather, great skiing, and good friends. 9 people out of 12 showed up which is darn good for a TT trip. The campfire Saturday night was classic. Thankas to all that came and made this trip a huge success.

Personally I had the most amazing time skiing. For my second time on XC skis I feel I did pretty well. I have a lot to learn but my confidince level is now way high.”

“Great time! Great to see old faces and meet some new ones. Good sloppy "freezin" weekend - felt great to get out and enjoy the company of you all.”

“Pictures: http://travel.webshots.com/album/562034476TaGMZR”

“Welcome back!”

“where is the picture of jim falling on his butt?”

“How did you know that happened, ZC??? It's like you're telepathic. Alas, I can't recall if I got an "on your butt, JimmySan" photo!

Ya know, I knew he had that Blackberry or whatever out at the cafe, right next to me. No idea he was posting here.

Hey, JimmySan, you've got a great set-up for paperless geocaching there with wifi, etc.! ;-P

Great time had by all, I think it's safe to say. Classic! I may have photos up later tonight.”

“How did you know that happened, ZC???



I just had a feeling. It's Jim after all!!”

“just made it home...easy drive...gotta hit the bathtub...more later...we had a blast! Thanks to everyone for helping me make this trip...you are the greatest!”

“Ahhhh. YES, it was a great weekend. Jimmy, thanks for the great time. It was wonderful seeing everyone ---- great company. The hike out through the fog this morning was awesome. Sorry we had to leave so early to those of you that were still sleeping but we had to get back to the UP so i could run to Marquette and pick up my son for the week. Hope to see everyone again soon.

Lorax, lets get our trip for the spring planned!@!

Pictures to follow soon”

“Pics

”