Fat Bike Demo and Race
Minnesota is known for a few things. We invented waterskis. Conversely, we also invented the snowmobile. It’s duck, duck, gray duck. The Mississippi River begins in Lake Itasca, in the NW part of the state. The Norway pine is our state tree and the walleye is our state fish. Some call us the North Star State. We go fishing all year–even on ice. And ride … Continue reading Fat Bike Demo and Race
Lake Maria State Park. Year Two.
The journey began with pizza, as all storied journeys do. I just wanted to write that. Anyways. We loaded up Subi (my Subaru) and headed west on I-94. Lake Maria State Park is about 45 minutes from Minneapolis. From downtown, take I-94 west until the second Monticello exit. The park is eight miles west of the freeway. Farm fields speckled by oak groves, rolling hills … Continue reading Lake Maria State Park. Year Two.
Slow Fishing
“All you need is a credit card and you can be an outdoorsman on Instagram.” If you look at a cache of photos on any given hashtag–#campvibes, #camptrend, #liveauthentic, whatever–you’ll find a few photos of people doing cool shit. You can see people hiking the PCT, traversing glaciers or camping in Trolltunga. But most of all, you’ll see people standing in a field with their … Continue reading Slow Fishing
Breaking In A New Cabin
Pine forest meets shipping container meets hygge. A new Dakota County regional park opened just south of St. Paul on the border of Rosemount and Farmington. It’s called Whitetail Woods. The park has a few miles of ski and hiking trails, but the main attraction has been the camper cabins, which welcomed their first guests around Christmastime. Reservations for these cabins opened to the public … Continue reading Breaking In A New Cabin
Let’s Skate
“Is this your first time skate skiing?” I asked Andy as we approached the Wirth chalet to pick up trail passes. “Yes,” Andy replied. “Oh good. You’re in for a load of soreness tomorrow.” After all, skate skiing soreness is the best type of soreness. We fixed our trail passes to our jackets and hit the trails. Learning how to skate ski isn’t easy. It has … Continue reading Let’s Skate
Skiing Is Back
If you received cross-country skis for Christmas, you needed to be patient to use them. It was foggy, 35 and a nice shade of brown in Minneapolis on what is normally a snowy day. While all the new road bike owners were logging miles on the dry streets, skiers were left wondering when they’ll be able to earn their own miles. Patience paid off on … Continue reading Skiing Is Back
Christmas Hike
It doesn’t feel like Christmas in Minneapolis. Temperatures are in the 30s and the ground is a March shade of brown. Some boulevards are even muddy. Mud. In December. This time last year, Audra and I already had our season passes to Theo Wirth Park and had been cross-country skiing a handful of times. There is truth to Minneapolis having some of the most unpredictable weather … Continue reading Christmas Hike
One Fish
The Subaru was loaded up and ready to go at 10 a.m. on Saturday. I picked up Phil from Angry Catfish shortly after. He was waiting for me with two sprinkled cake donuts as requested. It was a wonderful way to start the morning. We were off and rolling to Whitewater State Park, one of the few areas in the state to fish trout this time … Continue reading One Fish
Back In The Saddle
Kind of. Slick Minneapolis winter roads are keeping me inside. While I was laid up, I bought a couple things to bide my time and prepare for being active outdoors once again. One item was a new fly fishing rod and reel, the other was a trainer. The doctor told me to “take it easy for 4-6 weeks,” which sounds more like a death sentence … Continue reading Back In The Saddle
An Outdoorsman (Me) with Pneumonia
If you’ve wondered why I haven’t been posting much lately, it’s because I came down with pneumonia a couple weeks ago. It knocked me on my ass. Literally. During the worst of it, two weeks ago, I had a fever of 103F for four days and energy was at an all-time low. While at the doctor, the simple task of holding my arms above my head … Continue reading An Outdoorsman (Me) with Pneumonia
Birch & Flannel 