Candlelight Ski III Trip Report

“Candlelight Ski III Trip Report 2/13-15/09

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Croft and Firebug carpooled with every intention of arriving at the campsite at 9 pm Friday night, but dinner and Irish Coffee in Manitowoc delayed us. We pulled into Newport about 9:45, and hiked the mile into Site #2. Because reports said there was very little snow left, we both had our gear in backpacks, but at the last minute I brought my “gear sled” (read cheap plastic sled) and was glad I did because there was enough snow to use it. I’d much rather pull 45 pounds than carry it. Winter camping is always heavier than I like to carry. So with great anticipation of a warm campfire waiting for us, we hiked the mile into Site #2 and found…………….. no one else there. We checked out the nearby Site #1 and even down by the lake in case a last minute change in plan had occurred, but found no one. Set up camp in mild temps (20°) with less than a 5 mph wind and fell asleep to light flakes of snow that gave us only a dusting by morning.
Next day, we hiked out to the ranger station early since we hadn’t checked in for the campsite the night before where we met up with The Griz and Dr. Atomic who had just rolled in. Interestingly, the ranger told us someone named Snow Tiger had been there the night before and was unloading to hike to the site. Lorax and Redhead were supposed to be there too—also MIA. But we figured the mystery would resolve itself eventually.
Met Griz and Dr. Atomic unloading their gear in the parking lot and had a welcoming beer with them. Found a note with “CROFT” written on it in big letters duct taped to the fencepost. It was from Lorax. He had been there Friday night too, but unfortunately, had been called back to work and had no sooner arrived than had to leave.
While Griz and Dr. Atomic hiked in to the site and set up, Croft and Firebug hiked south on the Newport Trail about 2 ½ miles checking out sites 3, 4, 5 and 6. 5 had a nice view of the Lake and 6 was nestled well off the trail in the trees—a good site for protection from the wind. We headed the 3 ½ miles back to camp to find Griz and Dr. Atomic all set up but out on their own hike so Firebug and I scrounged for firewood and had quite a respectable pile in about 45 minutes between the two of us. Easy to do at Newport as there’s plenty of deadfall from the blow down storm of a few years ago.
Everyone was back in camp mid-afternoon and enjoyed a few cocktails and a meal before we headed out for the Candlelight Hike. The little bit of snow was mostly ice and had some dry patches, so we hiked rather than skied. The evening was pristinely beautiful—again low 20’s and little breeze, a far sight better than the 40 below wind chills of last year. Walking through the woods by candlelight is magical. About 35 volunteers had set up the luminaries, set up a bonfire on the beach and provided cookies and hot chocolate at the warming center. I estimate about 50-60 people came to hike the trail between 5:30 and 8:00, and those we talked to were amazed we were camping. I quoted Mata a few times, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only a poor choice of clothing,” which put things in perspective and garnered some chuckles. Besides, what’s not to like? We have the place to ourselves! One of the volunteers came up to us and asked if Snow Tiger was camping with us because he had talked to him the night before. Still a mystery?!
Griz and Dr. Atomic grilled jalapeno and cheese sausage on the outdoor grill there and slathered them with mustard in a tortilla wrap. Yummy. After a few hours and copious amounts of hot chocolate (on my part—I’m not sure what they had in their cups), we all headed back to camp. Time to have Firebug fulfill his namesake. However, we did lock up all the white gas before we let him light our campfire! He had it roaring in minutes. Laughs and stories about the usual suspects came easily and in abundance. We all turned in about midnight.
Woke to another crystal morning, still in the low 20’s, with the sun almost painfully bright to our red-rimmed eyes. Must have been all the smoke from the campfire (uh-huh, sure). Leisurely made coffee and plans for the day. Griz and Dr. Atomic wanted to get an early start home and stop for breakfast in Bailey’s Harbor so they started packing up and headed out about 9:30. Firebug and I took our time, broke camp and headed out about 10:30. Spotted the two “resident” mute swans swimming in the Lake. I’ve seen them almost every year I’ve been up here.
We stopped about ¾ of a mile from Newport at the Mink River Conservation area and hiked down to the River hoping to see some wildlife but just saw ice. The woods, however, were beautiful and we marveled at all the cedar seedlings blanketing the sunny spots in the forest floor. So we were on the road again by 11:30. We stopped at Cave Point County Park about halfway to Sturgeon Bay on Rte. 57, and walked along the cliffs enjoying the views of the caves and all the ice sculptures from the wave action and icicles. In all the times I’ve been up to Door County, I never knew this park existed. Definitely worth a stop. Beautiful in winter but I can also see myself sitting on the rock shelves that jut into the lake and dangling my feet in the water on a hot summer day, too.
Had the mandatory cheeseburger and fries at a great sports bar in Algoma which topped off a perfect weekend.
The rest of the drive was thankfully uneventful. No road adventures to report this trip.
The Snow Tiger and Redhead mystery was solved on Monday. Redhead sent me an e-mail that she and Snow Tiger were there Friday night but she started to feel ill and they decided to leave. While Firebug and I were hiking into the campsite on the Europe Bay Trail, they were hiking out on the Lynd Point Trail and we just missed each other. They spotted my car in the parking lot when they got there and the engine was still warm. Redhead is feeling much better now.
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last edited: 2/18/09 3:15:46 PM”

“Thank you for the trip report - had a great time there. Looking forward to next year”

“For those of you who have asked, here's the updated photo link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006422&id=1127911417&l=01c8cb67d7”