More Skiing and a Timber Assessment

Even though we did not receive a lot of snow this past week, the colder weather and timely lake-effect snowfall resulted in solid skiing conditions this past week. Tuesday I would get out for an eight-mile solo ski at Maasto Hiihto and Churning Rapids. Throughout the ski I would encounter bursts of snow showers as I made my way from the Tomasi Trailhead all the way up to the trailhead above Christensen Road and back.

In the course of my ski, I would travel down to Swedetown Creek by way of the recently improved Trail 17 and then head upstream on Creekside where I took in this view.

Skiing between the Triangle and the Tower, I would take in this woodland vista while skirting the edge of Ruby Marsh.

After reaching the tower and skiing the awesome run on Thoroughfare down to the junction with the Spring Creek Trail, I continued onward on the steadily dropping Thoroughfare Trail where I enjoyed this densely wooded view.

Reaching the summer trailhead above Christensen Road, I turned around to start making the climb back up.

I would get caught in another burst of lake-effect snow making the climb back up Thoroughfare. The lack of wind presented a silence that made this setting particularly beautiful.

On my way back to the Tomasi Trailhead I took in this awesome view of the birch trees along the trail.

Back at the trailhead I would run into our friends Wolf and Carolyn along with their son Karl who were arriving to ski the Swedetown Creek Gorge.

You can see my GoPro video from my ski at this link to the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel:

Wednesday morning I would drive down to Paynesville to meet up with Rexx Janowiak and Anna Pike from Green Timber to snowshoe around the farm to assess the timber in four of our management units for a select harvest that we need to conduct under our Forest Management Plan. Even though the temperature was barely above ten degrees, the lack of wind made our hike very comfortable. In the course of snowshoeing over two miles, we took in this view of one of my favorite places deep in a ravine in the back 40.

While a big part of our focus would be on the need to thin some rather dense white pine stands, it was great to check in on the growth of trees I planted with a couple of my friends back in the 1970s. What were once open fields that my great-grandfather Sillanpaa had to clear stumps from with dynamite around 1910 are now covered with trees that are definitely a reflection of my own aging.

I then skedaddled back to Chassell to make final preparations for a Chassell Township Zoning Board of Appeals meeting where we would approve a variance on a setback for a large garage project. This would be followed by a Township Board meeting where I would discuss many of the matters I discussed at the Planning Commission that I shared with you in my last issue. The big item during new business would be finalization of updated ice rink rules and hours for the township’s rink under the pavilion at Centennial Park. Most significantly, we would clarify that public skating would be only that. Too often hockey players take over the rink at this time and we have run into issues with hockey players not yielding to skaters.

Thursday morning Planning Commission Chair Brian Waters and I would meet with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Biologist Kris Nault to discuss our proposed brook trout restoration project on Hamar Creek. Improving fishing opportunities is one of our top five priorities in our 5-Year Recreation Plan and this once highly productive brook trout stream has taken on a great deal of silt exacerbated by the 2018 Fathers Day Flood which has covered the cobble needed for brook trout spawning. In the spring of 2024, we had met on site to discuss a potential partnership with MTU students with Casey Huckins. I had learned from Cassie Abrams with Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) that the MDNR Fisheries Biologist would have to weigh-in on the project before we could seek a permit from EGLE, thus our meeting with Kris. We discussed an inventory of the stream that we will need to undertake in the spring and our next step will be to convene a meeting involving both Kris and Casey toward this end.

Looking lakeward over Hamar Creek from the rail-trail.

We then went down to Centennial Park to show Kris the newly completed waterfront boardwalk that had been constructed by MJO and funded by the $495,000 MDNR Spark Grant. As the project was wrapping up, MJO proposed re-decking and re-railing the smaller fishing dock at the south end of the boardwalk which was nearing the end of its useful life. The Township board approved this $10,300 proposal with funding from the township’s recreation millage and this work had just been completed. You can see our walkthrough at the new fishing dock and waterfront boardwalk at this link to the Chassell Township Facebook page: https://fb.watch/x1BYZHleOy/

After grabbing lunch Julie and I would head up to Calumet where I would ski 10k on the Swedetown Ski Trails and Julie would go for a snowshoe. The trail conditions were awesome!

Afterwards we would make a few stops in Calumet including a visit to The Office Shop where we would learn about the food pantry they operate there that supports a large number of residents in the Keweenaw. You can learn more about it in this story about the owner Ron Rea: https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/2024/04/23/upside-ron-rea/

We would also make stops at Frozen Farms for hamburger and at Calumet Pizza Works for a Mediterranean pizza. Before heading back to Chassell, we would make the all-important stop at Bucko’s Party Store for alpaca socks recommended to me by our friends Dale and Margo O’Brien who I ran into while skiing. Stay tuned for a review of them in a future issue!

This morning we would make it over to MTU to swim. Since I did not swim on Wednesday, I would put in 2,800 yards. We then ran over to Cyberia Cafe for coffee where I would also meet with Ben Garbacz from the Daily Mining Gazette to talk about the brook trout restoration project on Hamar Creek. I would then get the new ice rink rules/hours posted on the township’s Facebook page, share them with the Houghton County Sheriff’s Department, and pursue getting them made into a sign. I would also talk with a potential developer for the old Holy Trinity Lutheran Church site.

I spent the afternoon grooming the Chassell Classic Ski Trail with Jim Vaught. In the process of grooming under bursts of lake-effect snow, we would create a new loop trail from near the two-sided rotator that is part of the fitness trail, add to the trail entering from the Marinette Street Trailhead, and move the equipment to its new home that has been prepared by DP Construction. Many thanks to Dan Palosaari for the renovation of the old ice rink’s warming shack into the trail’s grooming garage!

You can catch a look at our grooming effort this afternoon at this link to the Chassell Township Faceook page: https://fb.watch/x1EbGSMuvT/

Do you embrace winter and have the ability to work remotely? Consider locating in the Keweenaw where you will find ubiquitous natural beauty, no congestion, and lower crime! Not sure? Come UP for a workcation to check it out! Learn how at Visit Keweenaw at https://www.visitkeweenaw.com/plan/trip-ideas-itineraries/workcations/ Visit Remote Workforce Keweenaw at https://remoteworkforcekeweenaw.com. Learn about those making the decision to locate here by following the Remote Workforce Keweenaw Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RemoteWorkforceKeweenaw.