Keeping It Curious

I've been hanging out with my parents in Wisconsin for a week, so I really don't know what's going on in da Harbor right now.  Sorry.

But I have been out for a cross country ski since I talked to you last.  A ski around Ft. Wilkins with a new friend, Annele.  The conditions were wonderful, the scenery was spectacular and the company was pleasant.

A couple areas of interest along the way were Fanny Hooe Creek with her sleek water sliding over the rocks and bubbling under icy banks.  The white buildings at the fairgrounds were another cool spot.  The uniqueness here was that the roofs were all covered in a fresh layer of snow -- white buildings with white roofs on the white ground against a white sky.  That would have made for an interesting picture with the lack of contrast.

But here's the part that made my heart swell.

While we were out, we passed two people out waking their dogs, one skier with her dogs and two snowshoers.  Usually when I'm out, I don't see anyone except my buddy for the day.  That day I saw five!  And three of them were locals!  Yes!  I love it that people are getting out to enjoy the magic we have out our back door.  I was still giddy about this when I got home.

For another sweet adventure, I took Annele on a snowshoe.  We crunched up to the original spot of Fort Juniper, then followed the Lake Superior shoreline to the mouth of Fanny Hooe Creek.  Here are some shots from the shoreline part of the journey.

Surfboards of harbor ice

Annele above a monster ice hole

An icy shore

I want you to pay particular attention to that last picture.  See that chunk of ice in the middle?  It's blue.  Really, truly blue.  I didn't edit that picture at all.  Pretty snazzy, hey?

On our trip through the Fort area, we were going to take the south trail next to the lake.  It would have been pretty chilly with that bully south wind.  Luckily, Annele spotted a meandering snowshoe trail past the bridge.  We followed that through some trees and camp grounds.  Really a neat perspective that I hadn't experienced before.

Then we saw this spectacle.

A snow-curl slide off a picnic table

So this display was sighted all throughout the west campground on south-facing tables.  A few days before this picture was taken, we had a couple days of sunshine.  That sun heated the tables just enough to make the snow slide slowly but surely off the tables.  As the edge of the snow hung over the edge of the table, it started to bend down.  By the time that bend hit the ground, it continued to curve slowly but surely back under the table.  Pretty cool, huh?

It was another wonderful adventure.

Now I don't usually do this personal stuff, but little Braeden sure looked cute in this mohawk hat.  So here he is... 

Braed-man rockin' the mohawk hat

You don't have to tell me.  That's a cute little boy right there.  He steals my heart daily.

I'll be back to the yoop soon.  See you then!

Never a Dull Moment

I've been doing so much in a week that I don't remember it all.  Sorry!  I guess I'll just have to stick to the highlights.

Saturday's story is kinda X-Rated, and I don't know if I should share...

I've strapped on my snowshoes quite a few times this week.  One time was up Manganese Falls where the water is still rushing, but ice has formed on top.  Quite surreal, but my picture did not turn out.  From there it was up to Lake Manganese and up the ridges behind it.  That's a cool spot to hike if you've never been there.

Sunday I was going to go out to Porter's Island to check out the ice volcanoes.  I was crossing the large chunks of wobbly ice carefully, and I looked back to beckon my three canine friends.  They all looked at me like, "Heck no, crazy woman.  We are NOT going out there!"  And they didn't.  So I walked back.  I bet we would have been fine because I saw a couple ice fishermen out there.  However, by yesterday morning, all that ice had blown out.  Smart dogs.

Cwyfan, Duce and Tiki on our alternate adventure

Yesterday I was all ready to go skiing on a glorious, cement snow powder day, when ring, ring!  "Amanda, it's for you."  "Hello?  Oh, sure, I'll come into work today."  I'm a sucker, but I prefer to think of it as good karma.  I did get two glorious runs in before I hustled down to work.  At least it was busy at the Bear Belly, so I didn't have to look longingly across the road at Mount Bohemia.

Today I meandered over to the snow fort.  Everything looked great.  Walls were still up.  Snow was all around.  View was priceless.  

A view of Lake Superior over the new fort wall

Then I headed back along the frozen shore.

Open water in the Harbor

Well, okay.  You've made it this far, so I'll tell you about Saturday.  Now I work in the tourist industry where I see many snowmobilers during my shift.  I had never driven a snowmobile before Saturday, so I really didn't know about snowmobiling people besides in the bar.

That particular day I had to find a couple sledders (snowmobilers) to help me start this snowmobile that I was going to drive up to Clark Mine with my friend Donica.  She is very artsy and creative.  We were going to do a photo shoot.

Of course a couple guys are going to help a chick in the parking lot asking to start her sled.  "I've never driven one before."  I told them.  "And I don't know how to start it."  After finding the correct key, they helped me start it.  Vroom!  Then they made sure I could start it myself.  Vroom!  Off I went to get Donica.

We got everything ready for the shoot, and about 40 minutes later, I went to start the sled. Nothing.  Crap.  Try again.  Nothing.  We went to find her man, and with one turn of the key, Vroom! he had it going.  How come I couldn't do that?

Up the hill we drove at a nice, easy pace.  It was a fun ride, really.  I would love to ride around the Keweenaw on one of those things... if I could start it.

We made it.  Clark Mine.  The ride went smooth, and we got right down to business.  Here's where it gets risque.  I was sitting in my pose, well off the trail, behind the stack, like this:

Posing with a haiku on my back

When all the sudden, reen, reen!  I looked through that little gap in the trees, and there was a snowmobiler.  He took one look and said. "Whoa!" then waved for his buddies.  Another one came around with a GoPro on his helmet, but I was already curled up and yelled, "See ya!"  They yelled, "Sorry!" and drove away.

Donica and I laughed so hard.  Can you imagine their surprise?  I mean, they're out in the wilderness in the middle of nowhere, and there's this woman sitting in the snow... I don't need to explain this, I'm sure.  Oh, gosh did we laugh! 

Once the shoot was done, and most of my extremities were numb, we were ready to go back.  "Let's see if this thing starts!"  Nope, nope and nope.  So we started walking.  "Someone will pass us," we thought.

Soon enough, a group of four sledders came past.  "You break down?" one asked.  He tried to start our sled, but it was totally seized up.  We hopped on with them and got back home safely.  Then I just had to ask Aaron to rescue the sled for me.  He did.  What a man.

Right now he is trying to get his portable ice shanty out of the 18" of slush on Lake Fanny Hooe.  I tell you, never a dull moment in da Harbor!

A New Fort and Brockway

Wow.  This winter has been quite fulfilling.  Work has been busy.  Adventures have been plentiful.  Hobbies have been creative.  I am grateful.

Last Tuesday, when the temps rose and the snow turned heavy and wet, Mr. Brimm and I went out to (dun, dun, DUN!) build a snow fort!  I took him to the spot were Fort Juniper was, but he saw a more manageable spot one ridge over, so we started there.  We got a great foundation built in an hour and a half.  I think we got more built in one day's work than all winter when I worked by myself!  No thanks to the many melts on that, though.

Since that day temps plummeted and the snow has been too dry to work with.  That's okay.  I can wait for a good building day.  There's plenty to do on the mean time!

Like yesterday.  Aaron and I journeyed up Brockway Mountain.  He wore his skis and skins on the way up, and I wore my snowshoes.  He was taking GPS points for a downhill mountain bike trail, so I just meandered behind him.  It was delightful to be out on a calm day.  Here are some of the moments captured in that adventure.

Looking north to the Big Lake

Looking north higher up the mountain

Aaron's tracks through the trees

The sun through the clouds at the top

I couldn't help but put together a little video for you.  Come with me!

I finally learned how to edit videos.  Can you tell?  You are a part of my learning process, so bear with me.  The clips should get snazzier as I figure more out, but don't set your expectations too high.  I'm a writer, not a videographer!

The Last 3 Days

It sure has been wintery here in da Harbor!  Let me tell you what I've been doing with it.

Monday

We got at least a foot of snow the day before, so my best girls, Rachel and Hannah went to Mt. Bohemia with me.  I snowboarded while they skied.  We got to the hill before the lift started taking people up, and the parking lot was already almost full!  On a Monday!  But I guess school was cancelled due to the snow and a teacher inservice day.

The locals came out of the woodwork to ski.  Even people who were supposed to be at work played hooky and came for a powder day.  Like a snowy reunion!  One notable part was that the ladies and I took our first run down under the chair lift (as most people do).  On the way down, we each got hooted at by all the people who knew us.  I did my best not to look up because then they would just be laughing at me as I took a digger.

But, no shortage of wipeouts that day for this girl.  I think I had a couple cartwheels and flips in the powder.  My limbs and neck bent a few different ways than they normally do, but it was part of the fun!

With so many people there, the good snow got skied up pretty quickly.  But it was still a great time as we were all in good spirits.

Tuesday

Hannah, Tiki (her little red dog), Duce and I went out to Hunter's Point.  I haven't been out there in a week or so.  Once again, when we got to the shore, I couldn't believe how it had changed.  All those ice mounds were gone!  The frozen snow laid close to the shore, not 20 yards out like before.

We hiked west instead of my usual east.  It was like a new adventure traversing around that point.  Lots of the conglomerate was uncovered.  We could go down and walk on it!  And the waves tickled the ice beneath our feet.  It's unusual to be able to see the bottom of the lake there this time of year.  We could see the quartz veins, agates and all the other rocks that form the bottom of Lake Superior.  We sure felt lucky to be out there that day!

Me on the remaining ice above the shore

Here is a picture of the trail from the South Shore to the North Shore of Hunters Point.  I love how the snow sticks to only one side of the trees.

Snow-struck trees

We crossed the frozen harbor to get there and back from the Marina.  On our return trip, we saw a man ice fishing.  He wasn't catching anything yet, but he just got out.

Wednesday

Well, that's today!  School was cancelled today because of all the snow we are supposed to get.  I don't know... I can't foresee it being the foot or so that is predicted.  But then again, I never get my hopes up. I just look out the window.  And shovel.

I took Duce for a snowshoe on the double lakeshore loop.  We only did half of it, though because the snow was so deep.  Have you ever broken trail in a foot of fresh powder?  If you have,  kudos to you.  If not, just imagine yourself sweating out of every pore on what seems like what should just be a walk through the woods.  Oy.  It was hot -- even in the wind!

With that east wind, we went out to the shore in the Harbor.  The waves were crashing in.  Oh, I stood and watched in awe for a while.  I wanted to get a video for you, but my timing was so off, that nothing turned out.  Sorry!  I did get a nice picture of this turquoise pool along the shore, however.

A turquoise pool along the Harbor shore

The wind and waves made it very invigorating out there.  I'm glad I went to the shore.  I bet High Rock and Keystone Bay would have been rocking!

Then I bushwhacked my way through to the Superior Trail.  I was going to check on my little fort.  I had horrible pictures in my head of what it would look like when I got there.  This was it.

Fort Juiper's last days... melting, yet full of snow

Now you can see how much sunshine we've been having!  Yikes!

But tomorrow is March, and I don't think Fort Juniper will be resurrected anymore this year.  At least I found some solitude when I needed it most.  After this weekend (Mardi Gras and Copper Dog 150), the busy part of winter will be over.  Then comes my peaceful springtime.  Ahh.

Over the Nose of Brockway

Okay, I lied.  When I woke up on Saturday, it was no longer snowing.  I was too late to get to Mount Bohemia for first chair, so I decided to skip it.  I figured it would get skied up pretty quick; there were lots of tourists around.

Instead Mr. Butters and I snowshoed up the Nose of Brockway Mountain.  We crossed Hwy. 41 at the Garden Brook Trail then headed straight up the ridge.  I have never done it from the south side before.

The thing that surprised me the most about this ascent was the number of valleys I crossed on the way up.  Valleys!  It was nice to have a break during the climb, but it was even more awesome to discover the unique terrain.  Here is a picture of rocks at the top of one of these valleys.  Yes, I climbed up it.

Large boulders on the south side of Brockway.

Finally, with the help of tree trunks and juniper bushes, we made it to the top.  One section close to the top was really steep.  Duce even whined as he looked around for a possibility up.  I let him climb over me for traction.

At the top, we had this view.

Overlooking the Harbor and Lake Fanny Hooe.

Lots of snowmobilers were up there too.  I could hear them coming around the corner of the Nose and in the distance on the opposite ridge by Clark Mine Road.

Cautiously, we crossed the snowmobile trail and began our descent.  It was pretty flat and open at first.  A little too flat and open.  But that all made sense when we got to the cliff.  Yup, the cliff.

It was pretty much straight down.  Luckily, there were lots of trees for me to grab onto as gravity took over.  I literally had to hang on to a tree trunk or two, then let myself slide down to where I could either grab another tree with my hand or stop myself with my snowshoe.  I desperately wanted to take a video of this for you, but I realized I would probably hurt myself really bad if I tried to do it one-handed.

At only one point did I think I was in really deep doodoo.  I slid too far and ended up sliding headfirst out of control.  Hoo!  Was I glad when I stopped and regained control!  I looked up and Duce was whining again, “Mom!  I’m too scared to go down like that too!”  So I braced myself, and held out my arms to him.  “Come on down, Bud!  I’ll catch you!”  And I did.  

We made it down safely, but I had to pick some branches out of my snowshoes, and one of my boots came untied.  Could have been worse, I suppose.  When we hit the snowmobile trail at the bottom of the Nose, I looked up to see what we just came down.

Did we really just come down that?

Ah, yes.  Another somewhat dangerous adventure under our belts.

As for today, I shoveled four inches of the heaviest, wettest snow I've seen all winter.  Nice.

Copper Harbor Playground

It's snowing!  SNOWING!  For days.  I love it.  Hello, Winter!  Glad you made it to da Harbor!

In this snow, I've been playing.  I've been cross country skiing twice and gone on a wonderful snowshoe with friends since I posted last.  Tomorrow I plan to snowboard at Mt. Bohemia.  Yes, the snow is so good, I'm going on a Saturday!

The world is my playground.  I can go where I please on whatever gear is most suitable for the conditions and my imagination.  Well, some fine folks in Copper Harbor also want to create a playground for the school kids, families that come up in the summer and all the babies that are being born around here.

TV 6 News did a nice blurb on this project the other night.  Click here to watch that video.

They also have a website where you can keep updated on their progress and donate to help them reach their goal.

So if you're ready, come out and play!

A Snowshoe with You!

This post contains FIVE VIDEOS for your viewing pleasure.

Yesterday I went for a snowshoe on my double lakeshore loop.  And guess what, you came with me!!!

I took a video in five different spots along the way of this 2 1/2 mile (give or take) stretch.  So you can see all the wonders I saw without getting cold or sweaty!  My special guest, as always, is Mr. Butters.

All the links are below.  Best if watched in order from top to bottom.  Enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4 

Part 5

A Few Cool Things

A few cool things happened the last week:

The Copper Harbor Trails Club's Backcountry Snow Race took place on Saturday and Sunday.  Aaron and I were in charge of this event.  And though we and all the racers and volunteers had a wonderful time, I'm glad it's done with.  Planning a two day event takes a lot of time and effort!  I fell asleep on the john when it was over with.  Oy!

Sunday night I was sitting in the Community Building parking lot in the truck with Duce.  He was sweetly resting his head on my shoulder when something caught his attention.  He stared out the window intently.  There it went!  A dog?  No, the tail was fluffy like a coyote, but it was too big to be a coyote.  Then we watched another dog chase after the mystery animal.  The latter was Boozer, a town dog who always follows his nose... sometimes for miles and hours on end!

I told the owner of this dog about what I saw, and he said that another predator-savvy man in town thinks it's a mix of wolf and coyote.  Can you imagine?  It was so invigorating to see this what I thought was a wolf that Duce and I got out of the truck to sniff it out.  He darted around sniffing each step of the wolfote.  What a fun little adventure!

Monday I went out to the same shore where I took all those pictures of the ice arches.  Forgetting what to expect (though I know better than to have any expectations from Lake Superior) I was surprised to see them gone!  The man-eating beast arch was still there, but the rest had washed away in the pummeling waves.

What interested me the most about this phenomenon was that I could see how the waves affected these sculptures.  Big chunks of ice had broken off and floated away with the tide.  On the pieces that remained connected to the icy shore, the bottoms washed out, making the top wider.  And to top that off, the splashing waves would then freeze to the top and sides, creating more mass on top, but it also dripped before it froze, creating a saggy effect.  

Some of these sculptures looked like mushrooms or cauliflower.  Below is an example.  

And see that wave crashing to the shore?  I was getting wet out there!  Droplets from the wavetops were freezing to my glasses.  Boy, did I pick the wrong day not to wear my snowpants.  You'd think I would know better by now.  But nope, I'm still learning!

Kamikaze

I missed you. I wish I could find a happy medium between the spells where I feel like I have nothing interesting to say with all the time to say it and so much to tell you, but I can't even get to the computer. Lately I have been on the latter swing.

I've been coordinating the elements for a Backcountry Snow Race. The racers can snowshoe or ski the course. The first day is almost 11 miles, and the second day is about 6 miles. People are going to camp overnight at the Ft. Wilkins organizational campground. I'm pretty pumped about this event. The winter trails are so majestic, that they need to be showcased.

A few days ago, I snowshoed up Paul's Plunge, up East Vein Rd. and down the Kamikaze Loop (all parts of the race course). That trek was about 5 miles. It was quite exhilarating... when I started. But after breaking trail for the last half of the hike, I began to get quite antsy for home. I would look to the North (please let that be North. I think that's North) in hopes of seeing Lake Fanny Hooe. Not just because she's a leading lady in my life, but because that meant I could get off the trail, cross the lake and walk the highway home. Mmmm, solid ground.

There it was. Right down there. I see trees close, and trees far, so the lake must be in the middle. I've got to be there by now. So I ducked and goosed my way through the trees and more snow to the ridge line that would take me down. When I got there, however, the way down was was a much different angle. By the lake, the landscape angles down steeply to the water. But I was too far East, I realized, when I only saw the creek that was be between Lake Fanny Hooe and Mud Lake. The way down was a cliff. I decided not to plunge to my death, turned back around and, with the help of Duce, found my way to the never-ending Kamikaze trail.

At least North was where I thought it was. I found myself doubting, well, myself, almost half the time I was walking down the trail. And since it's on a ridge that drops down to the lake, I had it set in my mind that I could not possibly get lost. I wasn't really lost on land, but I sure was in my head, and that makes the journey seem that much longer.

I wanted to lay in the snow and take a nap. Why was I doing this to myself without another human being? The last time I snowshoed Kamikaze with another lady in town, Nancy, and we did it the opposite direction. The horrible, grueling, uphill for 3/4 of the way direction. We were in a blizzard, and the water in my bottle was turning to ice. That day, I wanted to give up so bad, and I was sure we were lost. That Nancy, though, she just kept keeping on, and lead me to safety.

When I think back to my past adventures, I am amazed at how the land up here has changed my mind and body. Each year I can see myself progress on many levels. And I know it's because I am here, in this wilderness that never ceases to amaze me and kick my butt. I am grateful for every moment we share.

Variety Pack of Adventure

I guess I can give you a sample of each! The last few days, I got out for a snowshoe, snowboard, bike ride and cross country ski. One each day.

The snowboard day was amazing. We got a foot of snow over two days, and I was out ripping it up at Mt. Bohemia. I found fresh snow on all of my favorite runs. Every time I ride down the hill in untouched powder, not even having to turn my board, I feel like I'm flying. Even though I am not air born, the friction under my feet is so minimal, that I get a sensation of gliding through the air. Kind of like biting into a York Peppermint Patty.

The snowshoe day made me remember how quickly the shoreline changes in the winter. Remember the ice volcanoes I saw a couple weeks ago? When I went to the shore on Saturday, they were all gone. Not a trace of them. The water came right up to the ice-caged rocks on the shoreline. I thanked my lucky stars that I got to play in one on February 6th. Otherwise, I would have felt cheated out of curiousity.

The bike ride was sweaty, yet enjoyable. Really, the best part is to see people's reactions to a girl riding her bike the day after it snows a foot. Yes. I am that girl.

As for my ski, well, I am not a good skier. I'm just not. Not now. But I do get to take off my skis and wander to the middle of Lake Fanny Hooe (see, she gets me every time) where I can be in the middle of a snow desert. Today I took in the serenity of being right between East Bluff and Brockway Mountain. What a cool place to be... it's like being sandwiched in a ridge line!

So there's my piece of da Harbor for ya. And I think everyone here would agree that today's sunshine makes da whole Harbor quite delightful.

By the way, my Splake was delicious. Fried and mighty.

Season's First Snowshoe!

School was called off today, so I figured it was my day to see if my snowshoes still work. The snow has been blowing around since Tuesday afternoon. It’s hard to say how much has accumulated in the last couple days because the wind keeps shifting it to different spots. Probably at least 3 inches here, but I’m sure the towns over the ridge got more -- they usually do.

But it was enough for me to go for my long awaited snowshoe. On my trek to the lighthouse, while I was still on the plowed gravel road wearing those metal-framed apparatuses over my boots, I began to sweat. I wasn’t nervous. I was heating up and had hardly gone 100 yards! Wooh! I thought, this showshoeing business sure takes some getting used to. I remembered the end of last winter when I was a snowshoeing champ. I would drag people out farther than they really wanted to go just because I loved it so much.

And now I was not even one tenth of the way through my day’s journey, and I felt beat. I had to remind myself why I loved snowshoeing, ponder life and think of new writing ideas while I was trudging along, so it wouldn’t seem so rough. And I wasn’t even in the powder yet!

As I broke through past the plowed road, into the fresh snow, I was reminded how hard it really was. This walk to the lighthouse, which seems so effortless in the summer as I prance down in tennis shoes and shorts, becomes a chore when I plow through it in three layers of clothing and boots. But underneath those few curse words I may have muttered, I was grateful for it. Winter is here, and I’m going to become stronger as I battle the snow and the elements.

The first few times will be drudgery, but I’ll sure be glad when the spring comes, and I can fly up hills on my feet and bike. Cheers to winter!