Northern Paddle & Trail Newsletter

NORTHERN PADDLE & TRAIL NEWSLETTER WINTER EDITION 2012

Northern Paddle and Trail’s Annual Meeting this past December was a great success. Of course the star of the show was the food. Boy, do we love our food and there is nothing better than a potluck for trying someone else’s cooking or showcasing our own. Those in attendance had the opportunity to cast their vote for the new Board of Directors even though the ballots could not be counted until the mail-in deadline was past. The Cedric A. Vig Outdoor Classroom was the perfect place to hold the meeting even if no one took advantage of the trails beforehand. We did , howev- er, stand on the deck with beverage in hand and watch other skiers pass by! Ideas to move the club forward were taken from the floor. Some of the suggestions were as follows: To schedule quarterly meetings with the idea of fleshing out our activities calendar when we are closer to the actual time of year it will be scheduled for. (we all realize how hard it is to know what we will be doing six months in advance) — To encourage having co-leaders for activities. — To gather feed-back regarding past activities. — To discuss ideas for better advertising of our club. — To share more with other silent sport or- ganization in our area. These meetings may or may not have a speaker or activity connected with them. All in all it was a very productive meeting. Be sure to mark the next quarterly meeting on your calendar. NOTES FROM THE EDITOR

NPT is starting a new year. We already have many activities on the schedule, but we are hoping to get many more. The best way to do this is to get all of our members to become even more active and to bring in new members. Here are some suggestion to help make this happen: If you are a member and are not automatically receiving NPT instant messages from Yahoo Groups, you need to contact Marge at 715-362-6118, and she can take care of it for you.

Plan on attending our next Quarterly meeting where we will be putting more activities on the calendar for spring & summer. This is a good opportunity to schedule an activity or find a co-leader to help you. We will share a potluck and hopefully be able to include a short hike . Bring a guest. Next meeting is Sunday, April 15th, 1:00pm at the CAVOC , and we are planning to include geocaching. If you have ideas for speakers, we are always looking for anyone who has traveled to interesting places, competes in outdoor activities or has an interesting hobby etc.. Bring your ideas to a meeting or to the attention of any Board of Directors member.

If you have friends or family who have participated in or expressed an interest in NPT, and have an email address, we will email them a copy of our latest newsletter.

Check out our Website and tell others about it, www.northernpaddletrail.org.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS TREASURER

Lynn Zibell 715-546-2131 Mike Shores 715-420-0284 Marge Mehring 715-362-6118

Dan Mehring 715-362-6118 Char Schneider 715-499-0785 NEWSLETTER EDITOR

Jean Johnson 715- 369-1433 Jean Johnson 715-369-1433

Jay Joppa Hosted a X-C ski at the Northwoods Golf Course in January . Being a very persuasive person, Jay asked for and got, six inches of new snow just in time for his activity. Way to go Jay!

Dan, Catherine, Lynn, Mike, Jay Larry and Marge is behind the camera JANUARY MOONLIGHT X-C SKI

Hosted by Marge & Dan Mehring On a beautiful moon-washed evening , nine crea- tures of the night set out from the parking lot to ski, snowshoe or walk to the shelter on the McNaughton Trail. There was not much snow on the trail and what was there was rather hard but we moved along in small groups , glow sticks hanging from our clothing, laughing and talking as we drew the crisp air into our lungs. The first to arrive at the shelter, started the fire and soon everyone was there, pouring a hot drink and enjoying a slice of Old Fashion Up-side Down cake with whipped topping. Marge announced that it was Dan’s birthday so we all had a second piece. After stuffing ourselves, we watched as the moon grew brighter. Someone suggested that we walk further from the shelter , so we strolled into a forest of black skeleton trees and watched as a col- orful moon dog appeared above us. We are so lucky to live where we do. Thank you Dan & Marge , it was the perfect evening. —JJ

BEV ENGSTOM’S SNOWSHOE

What a perfect day to snowshoe! Temperature in the teen, no wind and sunshine. We hiked the beautiful trails though Bev’s property along the Wisconsin River. We divided into two groups — The “hard core” were to do a 2hr. Route, the ”soft core” a 1 hr. one. After 1 1/2 hrs., we ended–up back at Bev’s house at exactly the same time! What the heck happened! Upon arrival back at the house, we dove in to refreshment consisting of a choice of beverage & appetizers , then on to hearty soups. We finished it all off with the best left-over homemade Christmas candy I’ve ever eaten. Thanks Bev — Well done! — JJ CALENDAR OF EVENTS

January 29th Sunday -- Join NPT at Minocqua’s Winter Park to ski/snowshoe/tube. Between 10 AM and 3PM we will have a table set aside for NPT members to gather at during a day individual fun. Lunch around 12:30 pm. Contact Michael Shores at 715-437-0570 or 715-420-0284 for details.

February 4th Saturday 1pm -- Snowshoe the Hanson Lake Trail. Intermediate difficulty level for this snowshoe around Hanson Lake. Trailhead is just north of the WI Motor Vehicle Building on Hwy 47. Contact Jay Joppa at 715-362-3731 or 715-499-1022.

February 12th Sunday 1pm -- Cross –country ski the Anvil Lake Ski Trail. Enjoy the chickadees while skiing! Meet at the Anvil Ski Trail parking lot on south side of Hwy 70 about 7 miles east of Eagle Riv- er. Contact Larry Zibell 715-546-2131 Both easy and intermediate trails available to ski.

February 25th Saturday 1pm -- Winter Bonfire & Fun at Squash Lake. Enjoy the warmth of a late winter bonfire and the fellowship of joyful people. Spend the afternoon playing ice shuffle board or ice fishing or hiking and warming up by the bonfire. By about 5:oo the fire should be down to great cooking coals. Where: At Dan & Marj’s cottage; 2853 Bay Dr. Rhinelander Time: 1:00 pm to 5:00pm or ?Bring: what ever food you would like to cook over the fire & dress for the weather.

March 9, 10 or 11th -- Check out Canoecopia with other NPT members. This is the Midwest’s largest canoe and paddle expo held every year at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison off of John Nolan Drive. Check out Rutabaga’s website for a schedule of daily events. Contact Mike Shores at 715-420-0284 if you’re interested in going, or connecting while there with the NPT group.

April 15, Sunday 1pm -- Quarterly planning meeting and Geocaching activity at the Ced A. Vig Outdoor Classroom. Potluck afterwards and planning some more outings for spring and summer. The Cavoc is on South Shore Dr. 1.1mi east of Rhinelander. Go east on Cty. P at the intersection of the Hwy 17/ Cty. P ( Shopko). Turn left at first rd. on left –Faust Lake Rd, then take an immediate right onto South Shore Dr.

May 31st Thursday 3:30PM – 7:30pm -- Paddle the Pelican River after work from where the Lake George Creek goes under Hwy 8 to where Hwy 8 crosses the Pelican River. This paddle is INTERMEDIATE difficulty and will start at 5:30 p.m.. Contact Carol or Guy Hansen at 715-282-5810.

June 6th Wednesday 5:30pm -- An after-work paddle on the Rice Creek downstream to Oneida Lake. There you will portage a small dam into Hancock Lake and paddle to the landing. Meet at Hwy K put in at the culvert . To get there at the Hwy 47 and 8 intersection, take Hwy K about 8 miles past the Oneida Coun- ty Landfill. Contact Jay Joppa at 715-362-3731 or 715-499-1022. Slightly above beginner difficulty level.

June 8-10 Fri- Sunday -- Camp and paddle the Pine River and/or Border Brule Rivers. We wiil be camp- ing at the Lost Lake Campground in the Nicolet Nat’l Forest. Take Hwy 70 to FR2450 to Lost Lake Campground. On Sunday, we will paddle the Border Brule starting at 9:30 am, meet at the campground. This is an easy paddle with 1 small drop that can be portaged. Contact Jean Johnson 715- 369-1433.

MORE ACTIVITIES ON NEXT PAGE………... ACTIVITIES CONTINUED …….

June 9th Saturday -- Paddle the oxbow of the Pine River near Florence. This is an easy hour or so paddle and a 1/4th mile walk back to the put in. Contact Mike Shores at 715-437-0570 or 715-420-0284.

June 9th Saturday. 9:30am -- For a longer paddle on the Pine River meet at Lost Lake Nat’l Forest Campground. This is a paddle of a totally undeveloped stretch of one of WI’s Wild Rivers. Difficulty de- pends on whether you run or portage a Grade 2 rapids. This will be at the discretion of the trip leader. To get to the campground: go east of Tipler in Florence Co. take FS 2450. Follow signs to the campground. Contact Larry Zibell at 715-546-2131.

June 23rd Saturday 12:30pm -- Paddle the Wisconsin River from Bev Engstom’s place at 6145 Hat Rapids Road to Rollie’s Rd take out. A Brat n’ beer cook out at Bev’s afterwards. Intermediate difficulty. To get to Bev’s, take Hwy 17S to Hat Rapids Road to Fire Number 6145. Look for sign. Contact Bev at 715-369- 2567

June 30th Saturday -- Paddle the Peshtigo River south of Crivitz. This is a nice flat stretch of the Peshtigo River from the Hwy 141 bridge to Cty. P requiring a slightly above beginner ability level. Meet at the Hwy 141 bridge south of Crivitz. Contact Mike Shores at 715-437-0570 or 715-420-0284.

CANOECOPIA Canoecopia is coming, so mark March 9—11 on your calendars. Book your lodging soon if you plan on attending as this weekend has been concurrent with some of the High School basketball tournaments in past years. If you haven’t attended in the past, you can expect to see more boats and gear and books about paddling than you ever saw in one place. The main attraction for us in the speakers. Every year, there are sessions on great destinations, training and technique tips at poolside and a chance to scratch the paddling itch after a long winter. And who can pass up the Aluminum Chef completion, conducted using state-of-the -art backpack stoves? At last check, the 2012 information was not yet on the website at www.canoecopia.com but it should be soon . See ya there! Mike and Rita Shores. ACTIVITIES OPTIONS

Most of these activities and more can be found on the website, www.dnr.wi.gov

Saturday January 28—Turtle-Flambeau Scenic Waters Area, Mercer, (715) 476-7846 - Candlelight Ski. The event starts at the parking area for the Little Turtle Flowage and traverses gently rolling terrain to the small warming cabin by the Little Turtle river about one mile out. The entire trail is lit by candles. Little Turtle Flow- age parking area. Event is weather permitting. 6-9 p.m. For more information, call (715) 476-7846, or e-mail.

Saturday February 4—Flambeau River State Forest, Winter, (715) 332-5271 ext. 101 or e-mail - 20th Annual Candlelight Ski. A 1.8-kilometer loop of trail will be groomed, tracked and lit with over 600 candles. The trail is for skiers or hikers and winds through the heart of the forest. The trail is wide enough for diagonal striders and skate skiers. Hiking and snowshoeing are also permitted during this event. Picnic tables and a large barbecue grill will be available near the trailhead for persons who wish to cook their food, and hot dogs, chili and spiced tea will be provided. Large warming fires will also be built and maintained throughout the night. Flambeau Hills Trailhead off County Highway W. Event is weather permitting. 6-9 p.m.

Saturday February 11—Peshtigo River State Forest, Crivitz, (715) 757-3965 or e-mail - Candlelight Ski and Hike. The Peshtigo River State Forest will be holding a Candlelight Ski/Hike on Saturday, February 11, 2012 from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Meet at the Spring Rapids trailhead, 5 miles west from Crivitz on County Road W to Kirby Lake Lane. Skiers will be able to ski on an easy 2-mile candlelit trail that offers both classic and skate styles. Non-skiers can try an easy 1-mile candlelit hike along the Peshtigo River. Warming fires and hot chocolate will be available for everyone. This event is free. For more information on this fun, winter wonderland event, please contact the state forest office at (715) 757-3965. Event is weather permitting.

Saturday February 11 -Rib Mountain State Park, Wausau, (715) 842-2522 - Candlelight Snowshoe. Snowshoe the trails at Rib Mountain by candlelight. Supported by the Friends of Rib Mountain State Park [exit DNR]. Meet at the concession stand. 6-8 p.m. Event is weather permitting. For more information, call (715) 581-7983 or (715) 842-2522, or e-mail.

Saturday February 18th Governor Thompson State Park, Crivitz, (715) 757-3979 - Candlelight Ski and Hike. Enjoy luminaries set out to light a 1-mile loop trail groomed for both diagonal striding and skate skiing as it weaves through the woods. Non-skiers are welcome to hike on another 1-mile candlelit trail with scenic views of Woods Lake. Hikers and pets are not allowed on the ski trail, but are welcome on the hiking trail. Warming fires and hot chocolate are available at the shelter building. Vehicle park admission sticker is required and can be purchased at the park office. Meet at the Woods Lake Picnic Area Shelter. Event is weather permitting. 6-9 p.m.

Saturday February 18th Book Across the Bay is a 10 K ski & snowshoe trek across Lake Superior’s frozen Chequamegon Bay, for Ashland to Washburn, Wi. The race is held at night under the light of the moon and stars and 1,000 candle-lit luminaries. Now in its 16th year, Book Across the Bay has become on of the largest ski and snowshoe events in the country. www.batb.org Mark & Mary Stokstad have been working this winter season at Capitol Reef Nation Park and responded immediately to my request for a newsletter article. Hopefully they will send us more reports on their adventures at Capitol Reef —jj

TRIP REPORT – CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK It’s been a month and a half since leaving Wisconsin and I can say that Mary and I have gone native in Utah. Capitol Reef is an undiscovered gem! Just 250,000 acres, 107 miles north to south and just wide enough to encompass the Waterpocket Fold. That’s the largest geologic monocline in North America and the second largest in the world. Some 65 million years ago, an ancient fault moved, lifting the west side 7,000 feet. Sediments from 275 million years folded over the basement rocks to create the fold. Erosion since has taken about a mile of rock off the surface leaving a wonderland of red, pink, orange, greenish-grey and tan rocks. We have a pretty good cross section of the rock on the Colorado Plateau. Navajo sandstone makes neat rounded domes, Entrada sandstones make wonderful fins and arches, and Wingate sandstones make sheer pink cliffs. The job is a nice mix of chores and chatting with visitors. I open the visitor center in the morning, do weather and the typical park morning report, do radio dispatch, answer the usual basic questions, quiz the kiddies on their Junior Ranger booklets (falling in love 3-5 times a day, of course), sell passes and help with re- sponse to what ever comes up. In February, we’ll start interpretive programs for the season and I’ll be doing a short geology map talk. Mary is working both with Resource Management and Maintenance. She’s doing some data crunching and, in season, will be pulling weeds (right up her alley), helping with threatened and endangered plant surveys and possibly doing some orchard pruning. There are 18 orchards here from Mormon pioneer days – peach- es, cherries, nuts, apples etc. We had snow on December 8, with some 16 inches on Boulder Mountain just to our west. Skiing and snowshoeing there were great for a couple weeks. Now it’s just sad!! We had pretty good downhill skiing at Alta and Deer Valley in early January. We hope for snow this (Martin Luther King) week-end. Winter hiking here is amazing, especially with the lack of snow. Mary and I have trecked to two great arches, climbed as high as 1500 feet over a couple miles for amazing views and explored some delightful canyon walks. There are Fremont Culture petroglyphs to be found, pit house remains, granaries and even 1,000 year-old corn. We drove rugged dirt roads to Temple of the Sun and Glass Mountain last week-end for a sunrise view. Selenite crystals (gypsum) bulge from the ground there and catch the sun. Pretty cool. We’re off for 4 days now and hope to see a bit of Arches and Canyonlands. Greetings to all. Keep Moving and Keep Smiling!! Ranger Mark REFLECTIONS FROM THE TRAIL SWEEPER

By Marcia Obukowicz I was out at Holiday Acres for the inaugural Snowshoe Hare Race this weekend. Many of our friends at RASTA put it on and the dump of snow Thursday replenished the icy trails. The course for the race was a nice mix of rolling terrain, a snowy bridge over the open water and a couple big hills at the turn around. I am told the 10 km folks “suffered” through the bigger hills of CAVOC. It was my first time taking this route and found it enjoyable. Went on my “to do” list to explore further. Maybe a future NPT event! Most of the participants were the hard core competitor type so I was quickly left in the dusty snow to enjoy the scenery at my pace. I also knew 1 km in, today was not going to be a fast day. I am still adjusting to the variability of great, good and oh well. Today was an “oh well”. For this race, I would be trail sweeping. Goal readjusted, the pressure if there was any, departed. I quickly found a rhythm that worked for me, the squash of snow soft, a spray of silicone kept snowballs from forming under my cleats. Good work out for my thighs. The competitive part of me wishes I was stronger, didn’t work so much, had more time to train, that I could once again be the athlete I was. The participant in me realizes I am not there for the trophies but I am grateful to the Brave- heart folks who created a snowshoe series focused on participation. It gives me incentive to train and race; a prize to shoot for. If I can complete 8 races in the series there will be “hardware!” What a great way to energize those of us who will never medal. I plan on finishing each one even if it is an “oh well” day. There are great benefits to action; NPT has taught me that. Get out, get active, participate, try! It feels good to get outside in winter and snowshoe the blues away! I can watch the frost grow on my coat, I play Nanuk of the North. Listen for the chickadees working by a creek, warn them about the shrike. Lose four minutes watching a weasel and his meal cross the trail, 15 feet ahead. Bask in the sun on a warm slope at Perch Lake, stop at the top of most hills, winded but thrilled to have made it up them, catch my breath and continue on. Meet interesting people who are walking at my pace, cheer those swift of foot, giving them running commentary on how far the person ahead of them is if they ask. I am no longer horrified that someone can run 10 km in the time it takes me to do 5. But I sure do want to be close to the end when they pass! I enjoy snowshoeing in a place I haven’t been to before, enjoying the aching beauty of winter among the trees and streams most courses take me by. I figure I’m faster than any speedy couch potato (Thank Marj for that quote) because I am actually out there, snowshoes on, poles at the ready and de- spite my sweeping duties, finishing the race. I am glad to be back on track, on course, in route. Just doing it! Guess that’s the real lesson. Just get out there. Moving, training and racing frees the endor- phins, gets blood flowing and cheeks glowing. It is good for the heart and the head. Lucky for us, the northwoods in all her winter beauty is right out our back door!