The Big Meltdown?

Earlier this week, Appleton was enduring overnight lows of -8 to -10 F with daytime highs of less than 10 degrees. But in the last 24 hours, a warm front has moved in, sending temperatures on Sunday up to an almost balmy 41 degrees. Here is the forecast for the rest of the week.

A lot of snow melted today. A lot more is going to melt in the next few days. I went skiing at Plamann Park on Saturday, and there were a few spots where the snow was pretty thin--a base of just a few inches. After today, that has to be bare ground. And in the next few days, there will be a lot of bare ground. It looks like ski season may be over. Unless we get another major winter storm hat drops 6-8 inches of snow, I think it is time to hang the skis up. Last year one could ski until the end of February, but this early thaw will leave us with little snow, even if it does cool back off.

So now the question becomes when can one get out on the road bike. Wednesday and Thursday both look promising. I won't be able to get out both of those days, but I'll try to get out probably on Thursday and do about 20 miles to warm up the legs. And then maybe next weekend, with highs around 30, it may be possible to get some short 10-15 mile rides in. Not much, but it looks like it is time to start thinking about the bike again.

Nordic Skiing - Reforestation Camp

Probably the best place to ski in the Appleton-Green Bay area is the Brown County Reforestation Camp. At 1600 acres, it is much larger than either Plamann Park or Bubolz Nature Preserve here in Appleton. The result of this is that there are 15 miles worth of trails. Furthermore, once you get about half a mile away from the parking area, you really have the feeling that you are out in the woods all alone.

There are 4 main trails at Reforestation Camp. They are

• Pines - 1.8 miles - Intermediate
• Oaks - 4.8 miles - Advanced
• Birches - 4.9 miles - Intermediate
• Maples - 7.4 miles - Intermediate

Each time I have been there, the trails have been in excellent condition. Brown County does a superb job of grooming the trails and keeping them in top notch shape. This facility is popular with folks in the Green Bay area, but unlike Plamann park, where the cross country tracks seem to take a beating, the tracks at Reforestation Camp always seem to be in great shape. They also have a lot of signage to remind skiers of the right way to ski as not to damage the trail, so this probably helps too.

There is a $5 daily fee for the trails at the camp, but the sign says all of this money goes into supporting cross country skiing in Brown County. Given the quality of the trails, this fee is very fair. An annual pass is also available, but since I live in Appleton, I have not really looked into one. There is also a lodge building at the parking lot that is open daily until 4:00 PM. Inside there are restrooms, tables and vending machines. What is nice about this is that if one wants to make a day of it, they could ski, take a break in the building and then ski some more. I can't recall, but I may have seen a microwave in there too.

I have now been to the camp three times, and I have done the "Oaks" trail twice. I have also done the Pines trail a couple times and the Birches trail. The Birches and Pine trails are similar. Some moderate hills, but nothing terrible steep for either and up or downhill. The Oaks trail is my favorite. This trail is rated advanced and does contain a couple of steep downhills. It also contains several good uphills--and longer uphills than what you would find at Plamann park. It is an excellent workout. One other difference, Birches is groomed for both skating and classic, where as Oaks is groomed jut for classic. So you have even fewer people on Oaks.

I think my only disappointment about the camp is that it is about 45 miles away from my house, so I can't go there more often. While our places to ski in Appleton are good, the camp is just a couple notches above them in terms of length of trails, variety of terrain and trail conditions. It is the best place I have been to ski in NE Wisconsin so far.

Nordic Skiing

Cross country skiing is the traditional activity for cyclists in northern latitudes to do during winter when it is too cold and snowy outside to ride. I learned to ski about 6 years ago while living in Idaho. I missed a few years while living in Virginia, but now living in Wisconsin, it is a natural activity to do during the long and snowy Wisconsin winters.

Why do I like to ski. There are lots of reasons:

• It is a terrific aerobic workout. A lot of cycling is about aerobic endurance, and cross country skiing will help you build or maintain aerobic capacity.
• It is a terrific full body workout. After skiing for two hours, your whole body feels like it got a workout: your legs, back, abdominals and shoulders. Basically to balance yourself on skis, a lot of muscles have to work together in unison, and these are a lot of muscles that don't normally get worked.
• It is much more interesting than other alternatives in the winter. Going to the gym, about 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer is all I can handle. Boring! But I have no problem skiing for 2 hours
• It is an opportunity to get outdoors in winter. And, we have some great parks and natural areas that you get to ski through. Being able to get out on the ski trails in the middle of a forest away from it all is a big draw for me.
• It is relatively inexpensive to get into. Skis, bindings, boots and poles will run you about $300. The clothes you wear cross country skiing are the same as you wear in cold weather cycling (you burn enough energy that you stay warm). So really the other things you need are just gloves and a hat. Plus, most trail passes are very inexpensive, $5 or less.

In Appleton, we are fortunate to have two places to ski just essentially in town. The first of these is Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve. It is only about 5 minutes north of Appleton on County Road A. Trail passes are $5 for non-members or free for members. The area is essentially a forested wetlands. The ski trails are almost completely flat, so it is a good place for those new to cross country skiing or for those first couple times in the season when you are trying to remember how to ski. You tend to see a lot of families at Bubolz. The trails are cut right next to the trees, so all of the trails have a very natural feel. Finally, Bubolz does rent skis and have a warming shelter at the parking area.

The other place to ski is Plamann Park. This is a county park, so there is no cost to use the trails. There are not rentals or any type of warming shelters however. They do a good job of maximizing the 250 acres of the park with a trail system that loops you around the perimeter of the park. One thing that is immediatly apparent about Plamann is that the course is hilly. Not hilly in an Idaho sense of long climbs, but you are constantly going up and down short, steep hills. Doing a "lap" of Plamann takes me close to an hour and includes no less than 8 different hills to go up and down. Some of the areas in Plamann do feel very natural, but some are skiing through the baseball fields and the park boundary next to a subdivision. However, I do think they do a good job of making you feel like you are in a natural setting and you never really seem to notice there is a house just beyond the row of trees. Overall, Plamann is an excellent workout. If you do 2 laps at Plamann, you have a terrific cardio workout.

The one other place to ski in Appleton is Reid golf course, but I have never been there. I have been to the Brown County Reforestation Camp, but I'll write about that in another post.