This past Sunday our hiking group would gather at the Chassell Heritage Center and get out for a ski on the Chassell Classic Ski Trail. Mild temperatures in the upper 30s made it comfortable to be out. The snow was soft, but there was decent enough grip going up the hills and decent enough glide going downhill to make the adventure a pleasant experience.
You can check out my GoPro video from the ski on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at this link:
The early part of the last week was focused on moving snow at home. With temperatures above freezing early in the week, I took to the roof on Monday and got it shoveled. By the time I was finished I would be able to wring the sweat out of my wool blend underlayer. I would then knock out the minutes from the previous month’s Hancock Trails Club board meeting in preparation for Tuesday night’s board meeting.
Tuesday I would clear the snow from the sidewalk down to the lake. The above freezing overnight temperatures on Monday caused the snow to slough off of the sauna’s metal roof which buried the sidewalk. Snow removal in this circumstance is really important as wet snow basically turns to concrete once it re-freezes.
The temperature was dropping throughout the day which presented the opportunity for Jim Vaught and I to get out to groom the Chassell Trails. With the surface firming up with temperatures dropping below freezing our goal would be to till with the knives down on the three-foot Ginzu behind the Polaris to break up the surface which would also allow for combing and track setting. There had been some freezing rain and strong wind the previous night so we would end up spending just over three hours cleaning up the trail in the process as well. The hemlocks shed a lot of smaller branches and we even had one large aspen that had fallen with three large prongs extending over the trail. Fortunately Jim had brought along a bow saw so we had the ability to clear the tree from the trail.
Jim and I would also groom the trail to the Marinette Street Trailhead. Having this trailhead available will allow skiers who are not comfortable skiing the run along the cemetery to avoid it by turning left at the 2k cutoff.
I also stopped by Centennial Park where MJO was making significant progress with the waterfront boardwalk project funded by the DNR Spark Grant.
Driving home from the Hancock Trails Club board meeting, the truck started over-heating close to home. I have recently been going through coolant, but couldn’t detect the leak. Fortunately, Mike Reynolds at Garnet Garage was able to squeeze us in on Wednesday and was able to make the needed repair. Stuck at home for the day, I was able to make some important contacts ahead of Thursday’s Recreation Committee meeting where we would be focused on issues related to the Centennial Park ice rink.
Thursday morning I stopped by Centennial Park to check out the significant progress that had been made with the waterfront boardwalk.
I then drove down to Arnheim where I met with Rexx Janowiak at Green Timber where we would discuss a potential select timber harvest from management units 1 through 4 under my Forest Management Plan. We will be doing a walk around on the farm in early January.
Julie and I would then head up to Calumet where I would go skiing at Swedetown while she took care of other business. While on the trail I ran into our friend Mark and we would ski together for awhile. When Mark split off for the M-203 trailhead, I stopped and spoke with a retired Caterpillar Engineering Manager who lives in Ahmeek. It would be a fortuitous meet up as he has been involved with the ice rink there and would provide information helpful to me going into that evening’s Chassell Recreation Committee meeting.
I did get some GoPro footage in the course of my 6.67-mile ski at Swedetown. You can see it at this link to the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel:
At the Chassell Recreation Committee meeting we would discuss resident concern about the condition of the warming shack at the rink. We also learned about hockey players being disrespectful over the issue of the published hours regarding open skating. The warming shack is something that the township has been looking at recently as the current shack is at the end of its useful life. We would also discuss the need for supervision at the rink. I would share information that I had gathered from Portage and Stanton townships regarding experiences and practices at their rinks as well as what I learned during my Swedetown ski about the Ahmeek rink. Township Supervisor Lynn Gierke and Township Trustee Curt Judson were at the meeting and it was resolved that we would have a public meeting next Thursday afternoon at Centennial Park as part of a reorganizational effort to look at all issues pertaining to the rink.
Friday morning I would touch base with Jim Tervo to strategize about grooming. Steve Spahn and I would then get out on the trails with Steve operating the Gator pulling the five-foot Ginzu with the knives down and I would operate the Polaris just setting tracks. It turned out to be a perfect combination as we stirred in the three inches of snow we had picked up since Tuesday’s late afternoon grooming. This would result in beautiful tracks!
Afterwards, I stopped at Centennial Park to check out the boardwalk project and the ice rink where Gary Stromer was flooding the rink.
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