2013-Snowshoeing in Northern Wisconsin - Day 1

Living in the northern climate of the United States, you either have to embrace the Winter weather, or plan many trips to Florida, Arizona, or the Caribbean between November and March. This year I decided to embrace it, and experience winter sports in the North Woods of Wisconsin. Not owning a snowmobile, or cross country skis, and having this insatiable desire to explore the forests, I opted for checking out the world of snowshoeing. Being a lifelong runner, and more recently, a walker and hiker, snowshoeing seemed to be a perfect way to experience my 1st Winter in the North Woods.

The Minocqua, Boulder Junction, and St. Germain areas of Wisconsin are mecca for Winter sports in the Upper Midwest. In fact, The day I drove up to  Minocqua, the latest "Cruiserfest 2013" was wrapping up on Lake Minocqua. Literally hundreds of snowmobiles and people were traveling South on Hiway 51 Sunday, heading home after a weekend of fun in the snow.

I loaded up my Santa Fe with a bunch of warm clothing, a pair of borrowed snowshoes, a backpack, all my camera and video equipment, and headed out at 5:30 Sunday morning. The early departure was to avoid a potential winter storm predicted for portions of Northern Wisconsin in the afternoon. Of course, that meant driving on roads coated with some freezing rain until I reached Madison, Wisconsin. Once there, I checked in at my "go to" hotel - Americinn of Minocqua.

Monday morning arrived with temperatures at 30 degrees, but with a forecast for the temps to drop all day and winds up to 30 mph. Not having gone snowshoeing for an extended distance before, I brought all my winter wear to make sure I was warm... and safe. The drive to Mann Lake took about 15 minutes. Thanks to a friend who lives on Mann Lake, I was able to park at his cabin, and begin the journey from there.

To make sure I stayed warm, I had four layers on top, and under my jeans I wore my winter running pants. I wore a stocking cap, a neck gaitor, and used my running gloves (worked well with ski poles). To play it safe, I also carried in my back pack an extra running jacket, my heavy duty winter mittens, an extra stocking cap, two "space blankets", binoculars, a safety whistle, and a trusty bag of licorice. Time to head out.

The 1st step onto the lake was a bit unnerving... I'd never been on a frozen lake like this. I had been assured there was "at least two feet of ice" on the lake. As I ventured out from the shore line, I started feeling the slush I had been told about that had formed between the snow and the ice, as a result of the warm weather the past week. Each step felt like stepping in "mush". As I moved along the shoreline, I noticed open water underneath a boathouse. Two feet thick, huh?? Time to move out away from the shore, where the ice has to be good and solid! Sure enough, the "mush" disappeared, and I ventured on. Gaining my confidence that I could do this, I began to head back toward the shoreline so I could check out the landscape for animal tracks. Once again, the slush became more pronounced, and in one spot, I took a step that resulted in me sinking down, feeling like I stepped in a "weak spot" in the ice! This cannot be good, I thought. After surveying my surroundings, the "engineer in me" kicked in, and I surmised that this area was protected from the wind, and likely was prone to melting. Therefore, I should head out away from the shoreline once again. Of course, if my hypothesis was wrong, and I were to break thru the ice, I would be even further from safety! As I ventured away from the protected area, the slush went away... whew!  Onward!

I was walking with the wind for the 1st half of the hike, so after about 20-30 minutes, I was warming up pretty good (looked as though my clothes selection plan wasn't well thought out)... But I knew it would be changing soon, when I began the trek back into the North winds. The day was overcast, so with all the white snow surroundings, and the gray skies, the scenery was limited... however, the landscape of the lakeshore provided some neat views. At one point, where the lake turned into a marsh area, I ventured back into the grasslands. Several animal tracks could be seen along the shoreline, but no animals. By now, I was starting to feel my confidence building, so I ventured off the lake and into the wooded area. The snow depth increased, not to mention the hidden objects (branches, trees and rocks). So what seemed like a leisurely walk in the woods had turned into alot of work!

I worked my way back on to the lake, and began the trek back to west, along the south shoreline... The wind had picked up, and my path was directly into it. The snow also seemed deeper along the south shoreline (or maybe it was my legs were starting to get tired??).

Part of my journey was to visit the Titus cabin on the south side of the lake. The cabin, used for many, many years as a getaway for our family, still stands proudly, albeit a bit run down due to having not been used in over 20 years.
I took some photos to document the condition of the property, and pressed on.

The "slush" was back... 6-8 inches of snow, and 1-2 inches of slush on the ice made the going a bit tougher. I worked my way across the cove, toward the "old rock" at the west end of the lake. This was always a "go to" spot as a child, when we were old enough to take the boats out on our own. Sure looked alot bigger 50 years ago!  Once again, I headed up into the woods to explore the shoreline. The fresh snow from the night before was untouched. I looked up into the rustling trees, and caught a glimpse of two eagles flying over. Sight and experiences like this make you appreciate just how lucky we are!

Time to head back to the car, so I started my journey along the north shoreline, where all the homes and cottages on Mann Lake are grouped. I couldn't help but think how nice these places would be in the middle of July.. but right now they were quiet, and no activity whatsoever. My arms and legs were definitely "feeling it" by the time I made it to my starting point. Although glad I had finally made it to the end, safe and sound,  I couldn't help but think how neat this snowshoeing experience was!

I was able to track my adventure using one of the MapMyFitness.com apps - MapMyHike. Its great for tracking time, location, elevation, and estimated calories expended. The bad news was that my smartphone battery, in the cold, would only allow it to work for half of the hike. So the trip was recorded in two segments (2nd segment was with a new phone battery).

The following is a Google Maps 3D recording of my journey around the lake.

• The 1st Half of the Hike

• The 2nd Half of the Hike

My 1st snowshoeing trip is in the books!  I took several photos along the way. They can be viewed in my Picasa album (click here to view).

Stay tuned for the 2nd day of my snowshoeing adventure - Bond Falls, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan!