Skiing the Eagle Harbor Trails

A big part of the last week was spent working out the details for an upcoming adventure, but more about that as it goes down! The week did start out with a 2,450-yard swim at MTU followed by a Hancock Trails Club Succession Committee meeting over coffee with John Diebel and Ian Helman at KC Bonkers in Hancock.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources approved the design and specifications for the renovation of the bathrooms at Centennial Park in conjunction with our $495,000 Spark Grant in Chassell Township. I immediately got in touch with our prime professional, Chris Holmes, with U.P. Engineers and Architects. We strategized the announcement of the RFP which would go in the Daily Mining Gazette and other sites by Thursday. Our goal is to get this work awarded and completed ahead of the pavilion rental season this summer.

A big thanks to our friend John who was coming back from Marquette and was able to pick up a special-order window from Menard’s for our sauna’s changing room that Phil Sladek with Early Bird Construction will be installing for us.

That evening, Julie and I would host the Chassell Historical Organization board meeting in the studio above our garage in what turned out to be rather snowy conditions.

Tuesday morning I would meet over coffee at Cyberia Cafe with Ron who is a remote worker I recently learned about from Dar Gronevelt. He works remotely from Houghton for a utility based in Ohio. I am hoping to have the opportunity to feature him in a remote worker vignette.

After attending a Team Peninsula meeting over the noon hour in Houghton, my attention would turn to taming the Chassell Classic Ski Trail which had taken on at least half a foot of snow. After discussing the conditions with Jim Tervo, Jim Vaught and I would get out on the trails with Jim leading with the John Deere Gator pulling the five-foot Ginzu with me following and setting tracks behind the Polaris. The soft snow would present some challenges. With a fuse blown on the control for the five-foot Ginzu, Jim did not realize that he had not lifted the blades going up the steep hill into Dean’s woods; as a result, the blades dug in first stopping the Gator and then the Gator dug itself into the hillside. Needless to say, we had a lot of digging to do to get it out. We started grooming at 3:30 and finished as darkness was coming on at 6:00.

Wednesday would start with a 2,500-yard swim at MTU followed by errands in Houghton. I would spend the rest of the day and Thursday morning booking travel arrangements. Thursday afternoon I would go ice fishing with Eero and Bill. We marked a number of fish, but nothing was biting. Friday would start with a 2,500-yard swim at MTU followed by pulling tax materials together and working on some final travel arrangements.

Saturday morning, I would meet over coffee with Chassell Historical Organization Curator Mat Moore at his home. We would discuss upcoming priorities, including seeking grant funding to support the renovation of the basement of the Heritage Center to create additional exhibit space; development of a digitization committee that will focus on digitizing the Heritage Center’s photographic and written collections; and developing flyers for both the Heritage Center and the Historic Trail, among others. Saturday afternoon I would get back out to do some ice fishing by myself which is always a great way to organize thoughts on my projects.

We would pick up another three to four inches of snow going into Sunday morning, so Steve Spahn and I would get out to groom the trails. Since our previous grooming on Tuesday, we had received good reports on the skiing conditions all week through Saturday evening. Talking to Jim Tervo, we decided we would run with blades down with the five-foot Ginzu to break up the trail and I would set tracks with the three-foot Ginzu behind the Polaris with the blades down just slightly.

With the temperature forecasted to get above freezing that afternoon, our goal was to complete the grooming while the temperature remained below freezing.

As you can see, the snow is really starting to accumulate in the woods and we have quite a base built up underneath the trail!

That afternoon we would meet up with our hiking/skiing group in Calumet and then drive up to Eagle Harbor to ski the Eagle Harbor Trails.

The trails there had not been groomed since Wednesday so we did not have the benefit of the awesome tracks that we just set on the Chassell Classic Ski Trail. As the temperature warmed above freezing things did get rather sticky. That said, this is a beautiful place to ski as the trails are narrow and offer an intimate experience with the surrounding forest.

We would ski all the way out to Great Sand Bay on Lake Superior. Along the way, we took in this awesome view looking up toward the location of the Copper Falls Mine.

We ultimately reached Great Sand Bay on Lake Superior where we took in these views of the lake which included these ice volcanos.

A lot of open water still remains on Lake Superior.

After gathering at the edge of Great Sand Bay, the skiers broke up into three groups with the most intrepid of us taking on the loop around Long Lake.

The snow was so sticky that going up hills was like having skins on steroids, but going down hills was a face-plant waiting to happen at any moment! We covered 7.5-miles ski and likely burned many more calories than we expected!

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

On our way back we rewarded ourselves with thimbleberry margaritas over dinner with our friends Jennifer and Sue at Carmelita’s in Calumet!

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.