Seven days out from race day, we had no snow. It wasn’t looking good. We had a January thaw that removed most of our snow. A deep freeze turned all the remaining snow into ice. Then there was a blip on the weather forecast. A storm appeared. The first model runs showed 5-8″. Optimism! Following models showed as little as 1″ and as much as … Continue reading Let’s Loppet
It has been nearly three months since the good folks at Mountain Hardwear sent me a package of goods and a booklet welcoming me to their #FindingWinter athlete ambassador team. Winter was looking like a certainty when I opened that package. Ski trips were being booked. I had every intention of spending more time outdoors than indoors this winter. Then everything went wrong. Pneumonia sidelined … Continue reading Still #FindingWinter
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.
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
“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
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
You could stick to the groomed trails–play it safe and easy by riding the tracks of many before you. Or you could cut your own trail. It isn’t easy, but the sweat you trade for the experience you’re rewarded with pays off. Minneapolis offers many miles of groomed trails and inner-ring suburbs offer many more. These groomed trails are top-notch. Some are just wide enough … Continue reading Backcountry Cross-Country Skiing: Your New Winter Plans.
Several of Minnesota’s state parks have camper cabins. Some have electricity with heat, while others have a only a wood stove for heating and cooking. Lake Maria (pronounced Mariah) has three of the latter cabins. After hearing of these cabins from a friend, Audra and I decided to explore them ourselves. Accessing the cabins means a hike of a couple miles. Our January trip meant … Continue reading Cabin: Booked
Birch & Flannel 