December 27, 2000-
I hope everyone's holidays went well. Still one more to go I guess, but the biggies are over. Mine was good. Another adventurous drive down. I don't believe I have ever seen so many cars in the ditch in one stretch of roadway that I saw from about Stevens Point to Janesville WI. There had to have been an average of 1 car per every half mile. Some really good ones too, plus some bad ones, which I hope everyone was all right. It is a little unnerving to see a car upside down in the ditch. All that with just about 3" of new snow to boot. At least this year I did not almost plow head onto a person backing up in the interstate like I did last year!
Well enough of that. I need to back track a bit in this entry, as I did take some shots of the events before I left, it just got a little crazy up here last week and I did not have time to get to the journal. I did manage to finish shoveling off my roof. There was more snow on it this time around than when I did it last year at the end of January. I also managed to take a before pic of what my driveway looked like, a during shot with all the snow from the roof on it and an after shot to try and illustrate what you all missed out on, since no one took me up on my offer to clear it for me. Next time. Here is s shot of the front of the house with the roof clear. Needless to say it is not clean anymore. Actually it was not clean for more than about a few hours and there is already a foot of new snow on it. I even had a little scare while doing the roof. I had cleaned off the roof, but had 3-5 foot piles on my driveway and walkway. I fired up the snow thrower and made one pass through the pile on the driveway. As soon as it got through, it died on me and would not start. Not a good feeling to look at all that snow that needed to be moved and suddenly be faced with the reality of having to move it by hand. Many have sent me notes saying that I need a yooper scooper or snow scoop. I have one, but trust me, it is still a ton of work to move snow with one of those, just not as much work as it is with a regular shovel. I placed a call to my friendly neighborhood mechanic and he talked me through figuring out what was wrong with the machine. Turns out it was a frozen carb and I got it running again and was able to get my car out of the garage!
I said that there is already a foot of snow up on my roof since I cleared it off about a week ago. We have actually picked up more than a foot, it has just compacted. Keweenaw County has been the kings of the hill so far this year. They have been getting crushed. Just a few miles up the road, their snow is 43" deep compared to my 28. They picked up 16" last Friday when all I got was about 5 here at my house. So far this year, they have picked up 141" (not including what fell today). That is just 20" shy of last seasons TOTAL! It is funny, when I got together this fall with the guys who are doing the guide service with me, we were worried about accepting reservations for the week between Christmas and New Years, thinking that there might not be enough snow. We decided to do it anyway and just return any deposits if the conditions did not permit. Well, we are actually faced with an opposite problem. One of the areas where we were to take people has too much snow. One of the guides went for a ride with two of his friends today to break trail in this area for a tour tomorrow. The guide was on the "least equipped" sled, a Powder Special 500. The other riders were riding a Highmark 700 and a Mountain Cat 800. For those of you who are a bit lost, these are sleds which are made to handle the deep powder found out west and also built to hill climb. Anyway, I got a call from him this evening saying that they had to turn around before making it all the way through the trail. They all got stuck several times and the lead rider could not stop, or was instantly stuck. I also need to point out that they are all excellent riders.
The main reason for the bottomless powder is just simply the 100" in about 3-4 weeks. Another part is that the temps have been so cold that we have not had much settling so there is no "bottom" to the snow. By a bottom, I mean a layer of compacted snow that is able to support a human or sled. An the last reason is the fact that we have not had much wind up here, so the snow has just piled up. I was out in a big field today and we were busting about 2 feet of fresh powder. Normally that field is either blown to the hard pack or just has a few inches of powder on it. I was out riding with Jim, the person who helped me redesign the site, and his Dad. Here is a shot of Jim "laying 'er down in the pow pow". I had a few of those too and we both had a few where the sled ended up sitting on it's side, with us laying on our back next to it. There is still a ton of untracked snow out there so I may just have to get out there tomorrow for some more. I still need to perfect my powder 8 technique, but they are getting there. Put about 3 perfect "8's" together and then lost it. It's a lot of work, but I guess someone has to do it!
Jim, his dad and I also hit the trail today. We did a little riding on the DNR trail and then some off trail. But here is proof that you can find a perfectly groomed trail in the Keweenaw in the week between Christmas and New Years! Quite honestly, they said that a lot of the trails they rode on (they drove from Ontonagon to Lake Linden today) were in really good shape. They also spoke very highly of the new trail that runs down between Twin Lakes and Ontonagon. I'll have to go and give that one a try some day.
I did manage to get in a ski. Not much to say about that, but I did happen across a stand of red pine that had a very symmetrical look to them with the snow collecting on the bark and branches, so I thought I would share it with you all.
I also need to wish Burt and Baileys a Happy Birthday and thank those who did the same by e mail. I thought that was really special that persons remembered it and recognized it. They did get their traditional spaghetti dinner. Burt inhaled it and was done with the whole plate in about 15 seconds. Baileys was real lady and took her time and politely slurped it down in about a minute. They are now sound asleep, getting ready for a new day in the Keweenaw. Sounds like a good idea to me. I think I will go join them.
Good night from the Keweenaw, it is great to be back!
I hope everyone's holidays went well. Still one more to go I guess, but the biggies are over. Mine was good. Another adventurous drive down. I don't believe I have ever seen so many cars in the ditch in one stretch of roadway that I saw from about Stevens Point to Janesville WI. There had to have been an average of 1 car per every half mile. Some really good ones too, plus some bad ones, which I hope everyone was all right. It is a little unnerving to see a car upside down in the ditch. All that with just about 3" of new snow to boot. At least this year I did not almost plow head onto a person backing up in the interstate like I did last year!
Well enough of that. I need to back track a bit in this entry, as I did take some shots of the events before I left, it just got a little crazy up here last week and I did not have time to get to the journal. I did manage to finish shoveling off my roof. There was more snow on it this time around than when I did it last year at the end of January. I also managed to take a before pic of what my driveway looked like, a during shot with all the snow from the roof on it and an after shot to try and illustrate what you all missed out on, since no one took me up on my offer to clear it for me. Next time. Here is s shot of the front of the house with the roof clear. Needless to say it is not clean anymore. Actually it was not clean for more than about a few hours and there is already a foot of new snow on it. I even had a little scare while doing the roof. I had cleaned off the roof, but had 3-5 foot piles on my driveway and walkway. I fired up the snow thrower and made one pass through the pile on the driveway. As soon as it got through, it died on me and would not start. Not a good feeling to look at all that snow that needed to be moved and suddenly be faced with the reality of having to move it by hand. Many have sent me notes saying that I need a yooper scooper or snow scoop. I have one, but trust me, it is still a ton of work to move snow with one of those, just not as much work as it is with a regular shovel. I placed a call to my friendly neighborhood mechanic and he talked me through figuring out what was wrong with the machine. Turns out it was a frozen carb and I got it running again and was able to get my car out of the garage!
I said that there is already a foot of snow up on my roof since I cleared it off about a week ago. We have actually picked up more than a foot, it has just compacted. Keweenaw County has been the kings of the hill so far this year. They have been getting crushed. Just a few miles up the road, their snow is 43" deep compared to my 28. They picked up 16" last Friday when all I got was about 5 here at my house. So far this year, they have picked up 141" (not including what fell today). That is just 20" shy of last seasons TOTAL! It is funny, when I got together this fall with the guys who are doing the guide service with me, we were worried about accepting reservations for the week between Christmas and New Years, thinking that there might not be enough snow. We decided to do it anyway and just return any deposits if the conditions did not permit. Well, we are actually faced with an opposite problem. One of the areas where we were to take people has too much snow. One of the guides went for a ride with two of his friends today to break trail in this area for a tour tomorrow. The guide was on the "least equipped" sled, a Powder Special 500. The other riders were riding a Highmark 700 and a Mountain Cat 800. For those of you who are a bit lost, these are sleds which are made to handle the deep powder found out west and also built to hill climb. Anyway, I got a call from him this evening saying that they had to turn around before making it all the way through the trail. They all got stuck several times and the lead rider could not stop, or was instantly stuck. I also need to point out that they are all excellent riders.
The main reason for the bottomless powder is just simply the 100" in about 3-4 weeks. Another part is that the temps have been so cold that we have not had much settling so there is no "bottom" to the snow. By a bottom, I mean a layer of compacted snow that is able to support a human or sled. An the last reason is the fact that we have not had much wind up here, so the snow has just piled up. I was out in a big field today and we were busting about 2 feet of fresh powder. Normally that field is either blown to the hard pack or just has a few inches of powder on it. I was out riding with Jim, the person who helped me redesign the site, and his Dad. Here is a shot of Jim "laying 'er down in the pow pow". I had a few of those too and we both had a few where the sled ended up sitting on it's side, with us laying on our back next to it. There is still a ton of untracked snow out there so I may just have to get out there tomorrow for some more. I still need to perfect my powder 8 technique, but they are getting there. Put about 3 perfect "8's" together and then lost it. It's a lot of work, but I guess someone has to do it!
Jim, his dad and I also hit the trail today. We did a little riding on the DNR trail and then some off trail. But here is proof that you can find a perfectly groomed trail in the Keweenaw in the week between Christmas and New Years! Quite honestly, they said that a lot of the trails they rode on (they drove from Ontonagon to Lake Linden today) were in really good shape. They also spoke very highly of the new trail that runs down between Twin Lakes and Ontonagon. I'll have to go and give that one a try some day.
I did manage to get in a ski. Not much to say about that, but I did happen across a stand of red pine that had a very symmetrical look to them with the snow collecting on the bark and branches, so I thought I would share it with you all.
I also need to wish Burt and Baileys a Happy Birthday and thank those who did the same by e mail. I thought that was really special that persons remembered it and recognized it. They did get their traditional spaghetti dinner. Burt inhaled it and was done with the whole plate in about 15 seconds. Baileys was real lady and took her time and politely slurped it down in about a minute. They are now sound asleep, getting ready for a new day in the Keweenaw. Sounds like a good idea to me. I think I will go join them.
Good night from the Keweenaw, it is great to be back!
