Mirror Lake Mirage

Yesterday I spent the day romping around the woods and hills of Mirror Lake State Park. Great fun! Silence sports rules the way around here. Mirror Lake is near Wisconsin Dells, and is a little known year round gem about an hour north and west of Madison. Because it sits so closely to Devils Lake State Park, Wisconsin's signature park, not a lot of people are aware of what Mirror Lake offers. The Madison skiing community however raves about it, and drives right by Devils Lake to go skiing. And yesterday I learned why.

The trails are wide, well-groomed, and cut right smack in the middle of a southern Wisconsin forest. Other than a couple of small open fields, the rest is all wooded. There are challenging climbs, fast and long downhills, and plenty of flats to hold a stride. Two interconnected loops, The Turtleville and the Fern Dell Trails, total about 5.4 miles. And after paying the price of a 2011 State Park sticker ($25 yearly) all the trails are free.

I parked away from the crowds at the far western end of the park. This meant that my ski began with a climb up and over the back side of the park. However after this short intense climb I cruised quickly amongst the trees, eventually hitting a screamer of the hill at the end of the Turtleville loop. After connecting with the Fern Dell loop I began to really work my stride for the entire 3.4 mile loop. Nice rolling hills, with an occasional steep climb added to the tour. I then finished the 5.4 mile loop by bringing the other side of the Turtleville Trail back uphill to where I started. This last mile and half tested the legs and the lungs. I skied the loop three times in 2 hours and13 minutes for a total of 16.2 miles.

Quite the enjoyable ski. Lots of mixed terrain; lots of beautiful snow, and lots of trees to silence the chaos. After my ski I sat in the car, surrounded by Wilco, and enjoyed a well deserved lunch: some yogurt, a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich, a couple of clementines, and a jug of chocolate milk. Good nourishment for a tired body. Then, deciding to continue on with the mid-week winter getaway, I threw on my snowshoes and headed out towards the shores of Mirror Lake.


The path began just across from the where I was parked and headed northwest along the edge of Dell Creek. The hike brought back some youthful memories. The place where as a ten year old youth I caught a huge brown trout in the opening minutes of Trout season. Our neighbor Charlie Phillips got my brother and I up way before sunup and drove us over to Dell Creek. After a short hike in, he put a night crawler on my hook, and told me that when the sun comes up I should float the worm down into the hole just below me. When I saw the sun arise through the trees I carefully dropped the worm into the creek. Within seconds the stillness of the dark hole exploded with the thrashing of the hungry trout. A few minutes later Charlie was standing by my side, holding the big fat trout beside my grin. Too dark for photos, but never too dark for my memory.

Today was a bit colder, and a bit whiter than that May morning many years ago, yet still I am happy to be wandering around this late December day. The hike is a short out and back. Along the way I make a path through the woods to try and get close to water. I don't really have the time or the energy to bushwhack my way to the lake, but I can easily manage a trip to the edge of Dell Creek.

After a short saunter along its banks, I turn to head back to the car and then to Madison. To my delight the winter sun sparkles on my face. A simple finish to a wondrous day in the Wisconsin winter.

Great Snow, Significant Progress, and the Joy of Elver Park

Had a fantastic morning. In fact, the last few days have been splendid: great weather, and even better conditions. Fast and shiny tracks on Thursday. Three inches of fresh snow throughout the day on Christmas Eve.  Skiing on top of Elver, through a snow shower, on the day before Christmas, makes for a good moment.

December 24, 10:00 am. Looking west high above Madison.

Elver Park was groomed this morning, and once again the trail was hard and quick. After taking yesterday off I decided to skate the 10 km course, to track my mileage, and hopefully to push the envelope a bit. Today I skied the course twice...about 22 km total...my longest ski of the year. I'm still not where I want to be physically; yet I also know its all about gradual progress. Today I was strong. Strong enough to ski about 13 miles...over 40% of the Birkie. And the best part is that I know I got more in me.

December 24: Standing above the Elver Park sledding hill.

I am so very fortunate to have Elver Park right out my back door. It is a place I have grown to love. A park that is an important part of my life. Expanding it to the winter season is long overdue. The park is over 225 acres and has about 17 km of skiing and hiking trails...most of them cut through a mature woodland forest. The hills of Elver are appropriate training ground for the hills of the Birkie Trail.  And not just during the winter months, but the dry-land training I did in Elver before the ski season provides me with the confidence that I can fight to the top of these hills. In both places the hilly terrain is long and persistent, and always challenging.

Fast Track!

Finally got back over to Elver Park this afternoon. The trails are in great shape. Monday night we got about 3" of snow, then a small sheen of ice, and then a warm front...temperatures at or above freezing. The trails warmed up, softened a bit, and were hard to ski on. Then last night the temperatures dropped into the high teens and today the high was about 27 degrees. The skiing was fantastic.

I hopped on the trails at about 4:00 and was delighted with the track. The trails had an icy sheen on them and they were fast. My wax was good and my technique held up. All told I spent about an hour out there. I felt good. Even felt I could have gone longer, but consciously held back as tomorrow I am looking to ski a bit further than the seven miles I skied today.

Today is my last day of work until January 3rd. Although the papers and lessons will need attending, I aim to hit the trails several times over the next ten days. Hope to chase the good snow a bit---maybe a day in Wausau, or a day near Plymouth---both areas have good trails and excellent snow cover. Take a lunch and some drink and make a day of it. Hopefully some pictures will make their way to the blog.

Random facts to observe:

Today my heart rate averaged 146 bpm and my maximum heart rate reached 166 bpm.

Last Sunday my average was 149 and my maximum was 169.

Don't know what it means but I am going to start paying closer attention.

The Motivation of Doubt (Part II)

The Birkie just got a lot scarier. I entered the ski season confident and excited. Now after two weekends of skiing, I am filled with trepidation and looking for a jolt of confidence. During the past several months I have worked hard to establish a level of fitness that will help me grind my way through the Birkie.  I don't expect or yearn for a good time...my only goal is to finish (in under five hours). Today I am feeling like I bit off too much...like this year I should have skied the Kortelopet and saved the Birkie for next year. Skiing is a completely different game. I know I am fit, I know that I can run for a long time without stopping. And yet with skiing I must stop and regather some energy. Skiing is hard. Harder than I thought. Although today I made progress.

Yesterday afternoon, in an attempt to work on my technique, I drove down to Blue Mound State Park, where The Mad Nordic Ski Club was offering free lessons to its members. It was a terrific experience. I was able to work in a group of four--one instructor and three students. Our instructor Jim spent about two hours with us and worked us through the two most fundamental strides--the V1 and the V2. He also showed us several drills that will help strengthen our stride and our muscle memory. I am basically a one legged skier. What I mean by this is that about 75% of my energy is expounded by striding and poling off my right ski.  Yesterday I learned how to strengthen my left side, and I learned how to V2. Both key strokes.

At Blue Mounds I learned I have no technique. That it isn't my fitness level holding me back, it's my extremely inefficient skating style. At this point my fitness is saving me. It's allowing me to muscle my way up the hills and through the trees. Yet today, at Odana Hills, I skied differently. I spent my entire hour and twelve minutes focusing on my hip transfer, my posture, my knee bend, and especially on holding together my V2 stroke. Each lap is 2.6 miles, and during each of my three laps I gained strength and confidence. I worked hard at staying committed to my ski. At times fatigue brought back my old habits. But today, I was able to think about hip placement...and ski placement...and good technique. When fatigue came, I fought it with better form and deeper breaths. 

By the end of the ski I felt tired, optimistic, and motivated. I learned that I need to ski often. And correctly. I got a reality check about how incredibly difficult this race is going to be. Yet I can also recognize that I have two months of good skiing in front of me. Once again, as I have told myself so many times, I need to trust my fitness.

Blizzard!

Digging Out: This morning after our first eight inches of snow.

Last night the Midwest got smacked with a good old-fashioned blizzard. Today the blizzard warning continues, although 30-40 mile an hour winds have replaced the snow. Madison got about 10-12 inches total, although underneath that snow lies about an inch of ice and water. Shoveling out today was a back-breaking endeavor as the snow was heavy and wet. Kind of reminds me of the California Concrete we used to ski on when I spent time in the Lake Tahoe-Kirkwood area. Fun stuff! Too bad its too cold to play outside today.

California Concrete hiding the deck stairs.

The storm totals throughout the Midwest are quite telling: 17" in Minneapolis; 22" in Eau Claire; 17" in Rice Lake; 14" in Wausau; and about 16" in Wisconsin Dells. Had it just been a few degrees colder yesterday afternoon Madison also could have been up around 20" to 22". Either way, this was quite the storm, and one that should put a nice base onto the ski trails.

Tonight however we are going to get some severe cold coming in behind the snow. Typical Wisconsin snow storm. Lots of snow, followed by horribly cold weather. We are expecting wind chills between 30 and 40 below tonight and into tomorrow morning. But I guess when you grow up around here you come to expect this. I am just happy we got some snow. Should guarantee some excellent skiing for the next couple of weeks.

Our white pine surviving yet another weather encounter.

Winter wonderland from the back yard!

The Ski Before the Storm

Finally the Elver Park ski trails are open. They are still a bit sketchy. Not much of a base yet, leaves and sticks all over the snow, and a few bare spots here and there. But it does not matter. My training has officially turned to the snow. Last Friday night we got two inches of snow, and then followed that up with another four on Thursday evening. Not enough for ideal conditions, but still enough to skate across the western edge of the park. I kept my new skis in the garage, and instead spent the morning on my rock skis.

It did not take long to realize that skiing is not running. Over the past several months I have gained a great deal of confidence in my fitness level. I have gotten to the point where there were very few runs that I felt I couldn't handle. The hills, the flats, the short runs or the long runs all ended with me feeling fatigued, yet still never questioning my stamina. This morning on my first hill I knew that the game had changed. So as I crested my first hill I knew that I needed to trust my fitness level. I needed to focus on my breath, on my stride, and on my strength. Slowly I felt better. Slowly I gained some stamina. And slowly I began to realize that I am indeed prepared for this journey. Sure I am not even close to being able to ski 50 km, and yet I am certain that when I get my new skis prepped, my strength, my stamina, and my skiing skills will begin to reveal itself.

And the good news is that tonight we are in the middle of a winter storm warning and another six to ten inches are expected. If the forecast is correct, we could have a nice base by tomorrow evening, my new Salomon sticks will be waxed and ready, and no more rock skis will be necessary. And the search for birkyness will move almost exclusively to the nordic ski tails.