Ice, Snow, and a Baraga Plains Snowshoe!

We ended up having some pretty intense weather last week with an ice storm that created some electric power issues both regionally and across the U.P. We were fortunate to have only lost power to our new garage and not our house. The only downside to the power loss was that it made for some rather chilly finishing work on the trim as we had to open the windows for ventilation. Our biggest storm concern was for our taller trees which were laden with ice. There was a lot of rattling in the tree tops, but fortunately the wind speed did not get too far over 15 mph.

We picked up some snow on the back side of the ice which provided some much needed traction. Some areas farther up the peninsula picked up upwards of ten inches of snow!

Once we had all the trim finished, Phil was able to get back in to trim out the windows. We figured out the vinyl flooring and underlayment with Gartner’s in Hancock on the back side of the storm and Phil got the underlayment in place on Friday.

The sun returned at the end of the week which provided a nice dry shoulder along US 41 allowing me to squeeze in a couple of runs after dropping off and then picking up my truck from an oil change at JB’s here in Chassell Township.

It was unseasonably cold on Sunday, but we traveled with three of our friends down to the Baraga Plains to do a 5.5 miles snowshoe on the North Country Trail out to the southwest of Big Lake. While it was only 12 degrees with a zero degree wind chill, the bright sunshine and crust on the snow resulted in enjoyable conditions!

Check out the GoPro take on this Baraga Plains snowshoe hike by clicking on this link to the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel:

We stopped by MTU Trails on Monday afternoon. Julie ran the dogs on the Isle Royale Loop and I skied (all the more appropriate term was luge) a fast 4.72 miles.

Tuesday was filled with meetings and follow ups, but Julie dropped me off at the Rozsa on her way to volunteer to help the Co-op with a mailing they have going out. I ran the six miles back home from there recognizing the conditions may be a bit more ragged the rest of the week. My goal was consistency and I felt great about my splits!

It appears that we have something out of “Groundhog Day” going this week as we have ice back in the forecast along with a potential for eight to twelve inches of snow to follow. This will be great for extending the skiing season this year, but our hope is that the weather breaks soon so we can prepare for the upcoming Airbnb season that starts for us with the MTU graduation. Check in next week to see how much snow we pick up this time!

If you embrace winter and have the ability to work remotely, consider locating in the Keweenaw where you will have the opportunity for an extended ski season and be surrounded by amazing places! Learn more by visiting https://remoteworkforcekeweenaw.com