Wrapping Up January
Wow! It is really hard to believe that the month of January is just about gone! This past week really flew by in large part due to several meetings and deliverables that needed to be turned out. The below average temperatures made it easy to stay inside to cover meetings and buckle down on the work that needed to be completed!
The week started with an awesome 8-mile ski at Maasto Hiihto and Churning Rapids. We started from the 4-Seasons Chalet on the north end of the Houghton County Fairgrounds. We skied up to Tomasi Road where we dropped down to Swedetown Creek to pick up the New River Trail.
The beaver dams on Swedetown Creek were blanketed with fresh snow and the long winter shadows were a beautiful touch!
On our way toward the gate, I cut off into the pine forest which is always a treat to see after a recent snow. The snow was definitely deeper there than what I was expecting. Consequently, I received an excellent workout breaking my trail through the woods!
We skied up to the triangle then took the Ruby Marsh Crosscut up to Ruby Marsh where we picked up Trail #11 to head west before picking up Trail #10 to return to the triangle.
Once we reached the gate, we came back via the River Bypass Trail then dropped into the gorge to cross the Pedestrian Bridge. Once we climbed back out of the gorge we picked up the Pine Loop and returned to the St. Urho Loop via the Quincy Trail.
You can learn more about the trails at Maasto Hiihto and Churning Rapids at this link to the Keweenaw Nordic Ski Club website: https://keweenawnordic.org/maps/ You can get a more action oriented look at our ski at the following link to the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel:
I won’t get into all the details of my meetings and work this week, but will mention that I provided an update to Christopher Germain at the MEDC and Lisa McKenzie at the Western Upper Peninsula Planning & Development Region on what we have going on in Chassell as we work toward becoming a Redevelopment Ready Community. We had the opportunity to talk about the impact remote work is having on Chassell and the Keweenaw as a whole. We discussed the completion of the excavation of the notch in the Sturgeon River bank for the canoe/kayak launch as well as the bid process underway for the fabrication of the gangway and floating dock designed by U.P. Engineers and Architects. We discussed the progress this past fall brushing the corridor for the historic interpretive trail on the site of the Sturgeon River Lumber and Worcester Lumber Companies. We also discussed the preliminary engineering study the township has underway to plan for the future of key elements related to Centennial Park on Pike Bay. I also had the opportunity to brief them on how Chassell helped support the population growth of Houghton County during the last census period. All counties in the U.P. with the exception of Houghton experienced population loss since 2010. Chassell Township contributed to the county’s growth as its population grew by a modest 3.6%.
There was more snow to be moved this past week, but not near as much as the previous week. The temperature worked its way up into the teens for Wednesday night’s Keweenaw Running Group run from the SDC at MTU. We opted for the wind protected 4.5 mile loop heading west on 7th from MacInnes.
On Friday, I got out to snowshoe the historic interpretive trail to get this perspective on it on Strava:
We will be holding our initial meeting with UPEA this week on the preliminary engineering study and will be discussing the waterfront boardwalk portal captured on this map.
Saturday morning turned out to be a decent time to get out for a run along US 41. The sun was out and the wind was light; however, the shoulder was a mix of snow, ice, and bare pavement making Yaktrax a necessity. I slowed up the pace a bit due to the conditions. The Garmin needs a new battery, so I am using Strava for the time being. Tim Viola at the Chassell General Store is securing a new battery for the Garmin. Tim is your go to guy for repairing cell phones, laptops, big screen TVs, etc. In addition to groceries and general store type items, he also has an awesome selection of hardware if you are in search of one-of-a-kind items.
During the afternoon, Mark and I hit the Chassell Classic Ski Trail. The glide was awesome! We started from the Heritage Center which makes for a great cardio workout for the first half of the ski due to the climb. Once you get to the top, the return trip is a breeze!
I initially forgot to start Strava, but this will give you a pretty good feel for the layout of the trail. Julie and Jennifer were out there snowshoeing and we ran into them along the way.
Check out the GoPro video of Saturday’s ski on the Chassell Classic Ski Trail on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at:
If you have the ability to work remotely and embrace winter, you will love the Keweenaw! Visit us at https://remoteworkforcekeweenaw.com! Have a great week!