tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4068292013940156782024-03-13T09:19:45.269-07:00StCroixTroyStCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-71270741643347173142015-03-13T13:05:00.000-07:002015-03-13T13:05:27.213-07:00Winter<div style="text-align: center;">
Time to put up some pictures of the last few months. It's been a strange winter, weather wise, but that hasn't stopped us from getting out and having some fun.</div>
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Jingle Bear run</div>
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Solstice Chase</div>
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Merry Christmas</div>
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Snowbird and Alta ski trip</div>
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Cuyuna Whiteout</div>
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Stillwater to the Arcola highbridge on the frozen St. Croix</div>
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Wooly trails. Last of winter? A day after this ride it was in the 60's.</div>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-50494782974053080672015-02-13T13:34:00.000-08:002015-02-13T13:39:10.219-08:00Bikepack to the U. P. Day 4<div style="text-align: center;">
I awoke on day four to a steady drizzle. I hung out in the tent for about an hour before I decided that the rain wasn't going to let up the system was pretty well socked in for the day. I had a cold oatmeal breakfast and did my best job at packing up a soaking wet camp. It was the last day and I only had 60 miles to go.<br />
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The days route would be mostly gravel and forest doubletrack and it went from Henry Lake to Marinesco where I planned to make a quick stop before heading into a long stretch of unknown road. After Marinesco I would get on Forest road 523, make a quick side trip to see Yondota Falls, then catch the Ethelwood Grade that would hopefully connect me to M-28 near Bergland.</div>
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The rain was set in for the day and by the time I reached Yondota Falls I could not get any wetter. Embracing the rain situation I figured I may as well hike out and see the falls. It was a neat little cascade that you'd never know was there. </div>
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After the falls I made my way to the Ethelwood grade. This road turned out to be about 12 miles of completely awesome doubletrack in the middle of nowhere.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's all you really need.</td></tr>
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The Ethlewood narrowed to a mudfest but I was happy to find that it actually did come out the the highway. About 5 miles down the road, in Bergland, I pulled into the gas station an utter mess and had to have the attendant lady open all my food and drink packages that I bought because I was too damp and slimey to get a grip on anything. Warmed and refueled, it was time for the final 25 miles up and over the Gogebic range and the long gradual downhill to the Superior shoreline and then a road ride into Ontonagon.</div>
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I was greeted at my in-laws with a well deserved beer and a warm shower, all topped off with a hot meal!</div>
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The aftermath and bike setup:</div>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-16718857802179233692014-12-09T14:05:00.001-08:002014-12-09T14:05:59.103-08:00Bikepack to the UP Day 3<div style="text-align: center;">
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Waking up on day 3, it was nice to know that today's route would be 30 miles shorter than the previous day. The morning was beautiful and I was looking forward to the quick 3 miles into Park Falls on the Tuscobia Trail. Regardless of it's condition I had decided that 3 miles was perfectly doable and it was the most direct route to a gas station breakfast burrito and hot coffee. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fairly good condition on this section of the Tuscobia</td></tr>
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I hit Park Falls and pulled into the first gas station available. I came out with a muffin, a breakfast burrito, pint of choc milk, a banana and a cup of coffee. Poured some milk into the coffee to cool it off for fast drinking and slammed down the muffin and banana. The burrito was too hot and would be my treat 5 miles down the road. After two full days of riding I was getting settled into the simplicity of ride, eat, drink ride, eat drink sleep. I had a few miles of tar to get me out of town and then a nice section of gravel. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The next 14 miles of gravel sounded good to me.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The roadside fresh fruit stand</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the only traffic on Blockhouse Lake rd.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little gnome shrine along Hwy 182</td></tr>
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I reached Manitowish Waters early in the afternoon and was ready for some lunch. This being the last decent sized town before Henry Lake, where I was camping, I also picked up some rice and tuna for supper.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asian sounded good for lunch at the Market in Manitowish Waters. Also pictured, tonights dinner.</td></tr>
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While planning the trip I made a point to find out where the WinMan trails were located. Tim Wegner, the trail builder extraordinaire, had done some work on the new trail system and I knew I'd be riding through near the area so I planned to hit a little singletrack en route. </div>
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Things couldn't have worked any better. I rolled out of Manitowish Waters and hit the trailhead just in time to run into a local member of the trail crew. I had a unique bike setup and he had quite a unique vehicle. We immediately started up a conversation and soon after that I was being ferried to the newest section of trail and had a first hand guide of what to hit before I set out down the forest road for Presque Isle. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The awesome trail work vehicle owned by crew member Rick Gehring.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">About 7 miles of great doubletrack riding </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Forest road into Henry Lake Campground in Michigan</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fishing dock on Henry Lake</td></tr>
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I rolled into camp with about 45 mins of daylight left and had the entire place to myself. Quickly got my tent set up and some of my clothing organized for the next day. The mosquitoes were pretty bad so I was now thankful that I had decided to pack a small tube of deet. It worked like a charm. I was also glad that I packed the water purifying tablets because once I finally found the campground water pump, what came out of it, looked like what usually comes out of me.</div>
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I was able to get a cell signal out on the dock so I made a call back to Kerry and checked in on a few websites and then had a late dinner before going to bed. I tried not to think too much about the forecasted storm system that I had heard was moving in for the next day. </div>
StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-72866680353961627482014-10-10T14:29:00.001-07:002014-10-10T14:29:10.293-07:00Bikepack to UP day 2<div style="text-align: center;">
Day 2 started off with breaking down camp and then heading into town for a big breakfast with Mom. This was the first day of packing stuff back onto the bike and trying to do it in a timely fashion. Not a quick process when everything has to fit together like an advanced tetris game. I also purged a few things from my backpack, to lighten that load, and found room for them in my seatbag and framebag.<br />
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My planned route for the second day was the longest of the 4. If all went well it would take me from Cameron, through the Blue Hills on forest roads to Couderay, where I would catch the Tuscobia Trail and be on it for about 40 miles and end up at Smith Lake Rec area just west of Park Falls. This distance was around 96 miles. This days route also had the greatest amount of climbing. If I wasn't feeling up to the distance I knew of a backup campsite in Ojibwa, about 25 miles short of my goal. </div>
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After a hearty meal of pancakes and eggs, I lathered up with sunscreen, put down another pint of water, said goodbye to mom and set off into the Blue Hills. This was a gorgeous area and definitely lived up to it's name of being hilly. I had plans to make a side trip to see the <a href="http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Lands/naturalareas/index.asp?SNA=324">Rock Creek Felsenmeer</a> (sea of rocks), but if I had any chance to make my destination for the day I'd have to skip the 2 mile hike. This turned out to be a good decision because the ups and downs of the gravel road through the blue hills took up plenty of time.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awesome road in the Blue Hills</td></tr>
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When the gravel forest roads came to an end I was in the small village (crossroads) of Meteor. I had ridden 41 miles in the last 4.25 hours and I was starting on my last bottle of water. I knew the chances of getting water in Meteor were slim, but I still looked around the Town Hall building for a spigot. No luck. Oh well. Couderay was 10 miles down the tar road and I had checked that town out on Google Streetview and it had a small market. Off I went.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Completely indulgent way to eat a banana</td></tr>
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About 4 miles before Couderay I made a right turn onto the Tuscobia Trail. The plan was to take this all the way to Park Falls. During my short jaunt on the trail into Couderay I quickly realized that I could not handle 45 miles of the loose, rocky and rutted trail that the tuscobia was dishing out. Turning on the spur trail into Couderay it became evident ghost towns are not just for the West. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> I missed getting the sign, but just out of the picture was posted "Danger Trains crossing at 60 MPH"</td></tr>
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While google maps/streetview can show you there is a storefront there, they don't tell you that it is now completely closed and abandoned. I <i>needed </i>water now and proceeded to search around "town" for plan B, a kind person with a garden hose. Enhanced by thirst and hunger, the time of day and distance to go was now starting to concern me. Within a few blocks of pedaling I found my new best friend, a man watering his flowers. I rode right up to him and plead my case. He happily filled all my bottles and assured me that there should be an open gas station up the road in Winter. He also shared a road short cut into Park Falls, which I was grateful for, since I was not planning to take the Tuscobia Trail all the way into town. Regarding my water situation, I should note that in the event of not being able to find any running water, I did have a supply of purification tablets in my pack that would make any stream, lake or pond, fair game. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The school in Couderay, like the store, hasn't seen much action lately</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Forest named in honor of a good ol' dog</td></tr>
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With bottles now filled I was excited to get on the road and get to that gas station for some "real food". 15 miles down the road I hit Winter and it's corner gas station. I scarfed down some pizza and my new found, favorite energy drink, chocolate milk with a Starbucks VIA packet added to it. Revitalized with food and caffeine, I had renewed spirits to get to my planned campsite at Smith Lake. I sped off, determined to cover the 30 miles in the little over 2 hours I had before darkness set in.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stuffing my face in Winter</td></tr>
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I rolled into camp with just enough light to pick out a decent campsite. I was quite pleased to find out that this campground also had a shower. Score! I ended the day with 99 miles on the odometer and was quite pleased with knowing the next two days would be a bit less mileage than the first two. Stars were amazing from the campsite and the weather so far was absolutely perfect. 70 degrees, sunny and low humidity. Tomorrow was looking to be more of the same.<br />
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-66444789826191490912014-09-30T13:45:00.001-07:002014-09-30T13:45:27.478-07:00Bikepack to the UP Day 1<div style="text-align: center;">
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The thought of riding my bike to my in-laws in Michigans Upper Peninsula has been rattling around in the back of my mind for a couple of years now. I finally decided this was the year do it and if I didn't put it on the calendar it would just keep getting pushed off. The week before labor day would work great as I would have a ride back home when Kerry came up to her parent for the Labor day weekend. <br />
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The weeks before setting off were used to fine tune my route and make an ongoing list of things that I absolutely needed to bring. The route I chose was a very good mix of tar roads, gravel trails, maintained forest roads, and doubletrack with a bonus bit of singletrack thrown in. I chose to ride my full sus mt. bike because it's comfortable and rolls nearly as well as my commuter cross bike despite having tires that are more than double the volume. Given the bike choice, and it's lack of bike racks I suited the bike up with a Revelate Viscacha seat pack and then sewed up a custom frame bag. The handlebars would support a lashed on waterproof stuff sack. <br />
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The entire route, as planned, would be 315 miles. I planned to ride that over the course of 4 days. Day 1 would take me from home in White Bear Lake, to Cameron WI. I would ride primarily tar roads up to Osceola where I would jump on the crushed limestone Stower Seven Lakes trail, which would take me to Amery. There I would jump on the gravel Cattail multi-use trail which would bring me to Almena. From there it was tar backroads to my campsite in Memorial Park in Cameron for the first night of camping.<br />
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Day one ended up being 86 miles and the Cattail Trail was much bumpier than I banked on and the extra weight in my backpack took a toll on my butt. Some adjustments would have to be made for the rest of the trip. Mom ended up coming over from Scandia and joined me for the first night. It was a pleasant surprise. Since she came into town, we were able to run back into town for a bite to eat in DT Cameron.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The route as a whole</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bike, fully laden just prior to take off.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the road near Scandia where I met up with my parents as I passed by their house. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great cruising on the Stower Trail</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cattail trail</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loose and rough terrain on the cattail trail</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Home for the first night</td></tr>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-23502326259218339642014-07-18T12:34:00.002-07:002014-07-18T12:34:22.851-07:004th in Da Yoop<div style="text-align: center;">
We spent the 4th of July in the UP this year at Kerry's parents. Tim was anxious to get the boat out and do some fishing and Kerry and I were happy join in for a perfect day on the big lake. Caught a couple of lake trout which became our dinner for Saturday night. Yum!</div>
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I also made a trip up to Copper Harbor and had some fun on the stellar trails up there.</div>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-62589587203584179172014-07-03T13:39:00.003-07:002014-07-03T13:39:30.578-07:00Chequamegon Metric 100<div style="text-align: center;">
We arrived at the Hayward KOA campground and were greeted by the full contingent of my racing buddies that were already set up in the campground. Kerry and I rolled in with our camper around 8:15 and got it all set up and squared away. This was our first experience at a KOA style "campground". Quite a difference from the typical state park we are used to staying at. Tons of people, activities and commotion everywhere. The site was nice and we were all close together so it was still fun. And, bonus, we actually got to enjoy a campfire both Friday and Saturday nights. </div>
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I had my bike mostly dialed so I didn't have too much prep to do before the race. Race morning always seems to come fast though and regardless of how well prepped I am, something always seems to set me back a bit. This time it was no different. As everyone was rolling off to the start, I could not find my gloves. Searched and searched and finally decided to wear a pair of work gloves that I had in my truck. As I closed up the truck and locked it, there lay my gloves, now revealed, on the bumper of my truck under the tailgate. Toss the work gloves, put on the real gloves, lock truck and blaze over to rock lake road. </div>
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Once I got to rock lake road I expected to see the group gathered up and getting the pre-race spiel. Not the case. I simply found a few people, rolling slowly, far up the road. There was no meeting and I missed the rollout! Now I was playing catch-up. Oh well. By the time we hit the singletrack I had gotten into a comfortable pace behind a few people to let my heart rate settle back down after chasing down the road.<br />
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The first part of Rock Lake, Patsy and Namakagon seemed to go by fast and before I knew it I was pulling into the Nam town hall trail head and chatting with Kyleen who was there to cheer us on. This was the only stop I was truly planning on for the entire race. I had 2 bottles on the bike and I carried an empty 1 ltr water bag in my jersey pocket. I finished off one of my bottles put some cytomax in it and refilled it. Also filled the liter soft bottle and put it back in my jersey pocket. I now had ~80ozs of liquid for the next 40 miles. I ate a granola bar, took some sport legs and an ibuprofen and headed off down the trail for the rest of rock lake and Hildebrand.<br />
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Once out of Hildebrand we were back on some forest roads and I took this moment to eat some trail mix and a gu pack and also drink about 1/2 bottle. Soon after this I made the turn for the Danky Dank connector and immediately jumped off my bike to walk a climb that just wasnt' worth trying. Danky seemed slow and soft but will be a fun section once its finished and will make a great connector between Rock lake and the Telemark trails. Somewhere along Esker I ran into Brett who had missed a turn previously and put in some bonus miles. We got to ride together and chat for a while. Once on Spider lake road we got into a fast cruising pace and passed a few people that were ahead of us in the singletrack. I knew this was a long section of gravel so it's a great time to shovel down a bunch of food before the Janet rd/Seely pass singletrack entrance. There was no way I could keep pace with Brett and take in food so dropped back and told him "Go get 'em". <br />
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I ate some turkey sticks, my PB/banana tortilla and drank some more. While I was chowing, the road got steep and I grabbed a lower gear. Immediately there was a grinding and the sound of metal being force to do things against it's will. I instantly let off on the pedals and looked down at my drivetrain. I was completely cross chained, big ring to big cog, and absolutely no slack in the chain. The derailleur was strectched tight. Thankfully nothing broke but the chain was tight enough that I had to pull the axle and loosen the rear wheel in order to free things up. Guess I could have left one more link in that chain. I'm usually pretty good about never cross chaining but in this case I had completely forgotten that we had been cruising in the big ring for a while. <br />
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I hit the turn onto Janet road and there was a group of people cheering. It's always nice to have spectators out on the trail. I was feeling pretty good at this point so I assessed my fluid situation and decided that I had enough to get me to the end. Regardless of whether there was any water at the Seely pass entrance or not, I decided I would skip stopping at that point and just continue on. I finished off the last of my pre-mixed bottles while on Janet road. I hit the Seely pass turn off and saw Brett and Jose and a few other people. I yelled out a "woo hoo" and turned directly onto the Seely pass trail. I needed to get the water in my jersey pocket mixed with some cytomax and put into a bottle but also new that Brett and Jose would be on my tail in no time so I wanted to get a ways into the woods before I stopped. <br />
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The Camba trail crew re-worked the descent into Pothole Plunge. Big improvement over the steep armored descent that was originally there. Nicely done CAMBA! I soon made my water stop and sure enough, there were Brett and Jose, right behind me. See you at the finish guys! I finished mixing my water, downed another gu pack, ate some trail mix and popped a few more sportlegs. I now had 24oz of cytomax and another 8oz of water to get me the next 17 miles. I was still feeling strong and in good spirits so I was excited to be heading off to the finish but I also knew what lay ahead. <br />
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About halfway through Seeley pass I felt a twinge of a cramp behind my left knee and inside hamstring. Whoa, whoa, light pedaling. . . go away little twinge. I geared down and took it easy for a few minutes and it seemed to go away. Good deal. The trail now started bouncing back and forth across a forest road. At one of those crossings I failed to see where the trail entered again and ended up going down the forest road an extra 1/2 mile or so. I hit a large mud puddle across the road and noticed the lack of bike tracks anywhere near it. Dang, missed a turn somewhere! When backtracking I saw Marty and Matt Sylvester sitting at an intersection. Ahh, so that's where I missed it (6 minute detour according to strava). We chatted briefly about how all of us had some cramping or bonking issues and I headed down the trail. <br />
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I pushed it for a little bit to stay ahead of those guys but as soon as I started hitting the climbs on 38 Special the cramps started coming on again so i backed off and had to drop down into the granny. I was now second guessing my decision to forgo the water stop. If I had another bottle, I would simply slam the whole bottle I had full of electrolytes in an attempt to keep the cramps at bay. I still felt plenty strong but had to limit my output on the climbs or the twinge monster would start screaming. I was stuck trying to nurse my legs along on the 16 oz of drink I had left and Ojibwe was yet to come. <br />
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The soft pedaling and taking full advantage of the granny gear seemed to be helping because despite Ojibwe seeming that it would never end, I didn't have to dismount and stretch a ridiculous amount of times and I was able to climb most of the stuff. I contemplated taking my gu with the double caffiene but figured it would just be a waste. I couldn't push my legs any harder without cramping anyway. I finally hit Randysek Road, locked up the suspension and cranked out the final miles into town. I finished in 6 hours and 53 minutes. My hopeful guess is that I might finish in 7 hours so I met that goal and was quite pleased. I refueled with a bottle of endurox and quickly downed a quart of plain water before cracking a beer to celebrate and watch the rest of the folks come in. <br />
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Once everyone was in we finished off the night with pizzas at the Rivers Eatery and then retreated to camp for some time around the campfire. Weather was great and another fantastic weekend in the books.<br />
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-87813069455766509632014-06-19T12:37:00.002-07:002014-06-19T12:37:28.424-07:00Spring Gravel<div style="text-align: center;">
Spring means gravel season. It's time to hit the road, get in some base miles and do a little exploring on the minimal traffic gravel roads. This spring also included 3 gravel races, Mammoth Gravel, Dickie Scramble and the Almanzo. </div>
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The mammoth gravel was reduced to a tar ride this year due to another massive dump of snow the week before. Scott and I still did the ride and had fun. </div>
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Next up was Drew Wilson's Dickie Scramble. This was a ride we did last year for the first time. Drew puts together a great course and this year was no different. There was one heckuva technical downhill section that I thoroughly enjoyed, <br />
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In May it was time for the King of all gravel races, the Almanzo. This was my 5th tour of this great event.<br />
Next race up is the Chequamegon Metric 100!</div>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-80276289469791715152014-04-04T11:25:00.000-07:002014-04-04T13:09:30.726-07:00A Fun Farewell to Winter<div style="text-align: center;">
When Old Man Winter decides to stick around and become an annoying house guest that won't leave, your best bet is to just embrace him and make the best of it. </div>
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A couple of weekends ago we had a family fun day out at my parents. All the relatives from the Darling side of the family came out and enjoyed some wintry fun. With the abundance of snow this winter, mom and dad spent some time building a snow fort and a sliding hill which provided a bunch of fun for all the kids in the fam, both old and young. We also discovered that the remaining 16 inches of snow on the ground had crusted up hard enough that we could ride our fatbikes anywhere and everywhere on their 10 acres. Certainly a rare window of opportunity in the spring time. </div>
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Given the exceptional crust riding conditions, a ride was planned to get out and take advantage of the weather. Sunday morning, a group of us hit the Bald Eagle/Otter Lake park and did a 10 mile loop of exploration all around the swamps and forested hills. It was a real treat to be able to pedal anywhere on top of knee deep snow. Only one section, through some enormously tall pampas grass, was not passable. Conditions were too fun to limit it to one activity so I got out and skied as well. </div>
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I finished off the weekend with a camp out. Mom had never slept in a snow fort, and since they had built a nice one this winter, she figured this was her opportunity. I had not winter camped yet this year so I was itching to get out and was easily convinced to spend a night outside.</div>
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Despite it being a bitter cold winter, it has been a fun one. That being said, lets get to some spring weather already!</div>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-64731130859081279672014-03-19T18:41:00.000-07:002014-03-19T18:41:48.621-07:00Apostle Seashore Ice Caves<div style="text-align: center;">
A couple of weekends ago we made a quick trip to the UP. While up north we had a few chances to get out on the XC skis and also got out to the ice caves on the Apostle Islands Nat'l Lakeshore. Droves of people have made the trip out there this year and this weekend was no different. Despite the crowds of people, the caves were still spectacular especially since we timed it to be out there for sunset.</div>
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First up, some XC skiing in the porkies and on the Ontonagon shoreline.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great ice colors of of the Deer Yard trail in the Porkies</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This drift is along the park on Lakeshore road in Ontonagon</td></tr>
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Skiing amidst the big ice heaves on the Ontonagon shoreline.</div>
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Ice Caves!</div>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-73017304756114503272014-02-21T13:51:00.002-08:002014-03-24T13:58:40.007-07:00Florida Fun<div style="text-align: center;">
The in-laws decided to try their luck with being snowbirds this year. Kerry's parents got a condo on Daytona beach for 3 months. They picked a good winter to get out of dodge considering how cold it has been. We visited for 5 days and despite starting of with some rain, we managed to fill our time with some great outings and some beach time. </div>
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Day 1 we hit Universal studios and checked out the Harry Potter theme park. Day 2 was solid rain so we filled it with some shopping and indoor sightseeng at the Ponce De Leon Marine Science Center. Day 3 was spent at Kennedy Space Center. Day 4 was a beach day and a climb up the Ponce De Leon lighthouse, which is the second tallest in the nation behind Cape Hatteras light. Day 5 we went to Blue Springs State Park on the St. John's river and got to see an amazing amount of Manatees that are seeking warm water for a few months in the Blue Spring run. </div>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-62241685922641016322013-12-23T13:29:00.001-08:002013-12-23T13:29:22.261-08:00Canadian Rockies Pt. 3 - Banff<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;">Finally getting a chance to put up the last of the pictures from our great trip to the Canadian Rockies this past summer. Part 3 finds us celebrating Canada Day (July 1) in Banff. We rolled into town and it was hopping. Canada Day is like our 4th of July but with an extra dose of partying.</span><br />
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While in Banff, we saw Moraine Lake, Lake Louise, and checked out the Lake Louise ski area. We did a bit of biking around town, including a small portion of the Spray River Trail which is the start of the <a href="http://tourdivide.org/">Tour Divide</a> mtb race. We also hiked the Johnston Canyon gorge and rode the tram to the top of Sulphur Mtn. Everywhere we went there was evidence of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv2K_INRIKc">major flooding</a> that the area was subjected to just one week prior to our visit. In fact, we planned to stay in Canmore for 4 nights but the as of the time we left for our trip, the town of Canmore was completely inaccessible and under drinking water restrictions. We found alternate lodging right in Banff for "reasonable" rates because everyone was cancelling their vacations to the area.</div>
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Lastly, before making the long drive home, we had one more stop to make. Kerry and I have always talked about going to see a rodeo. Up to this point we've seemed to somehow miss going to all of the big ones that come to the twin cities area. This time we would not miss out and the timing was right for hitting one of the grandest rodeos in North America the Calgary Stampede.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Canada Day!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're not, but we'll drink your beer and party with you anyway.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Banff Springs resort overlooking the Bow River</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spray River trail. The Tour Divide start. 2 miles down 2743 to go! ;-)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Major washout on the trail</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnston Falls</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fantastic catwalkt to Johnston Falls</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down on Banff from Sulphur Mtn</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spotted one of the locals on an early morn bike ride<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A smooth section on the Upper Stony Squaw climb</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great riding</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moraine Lake</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Louise</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying an afternoon snack with some nice scenery</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stampede grounds Downtown Calgary</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These guys were amazing</td></tr>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-4742264654005357692013-11-06T14:36:00.001-08:002013-11-06T14:36:53.294-08:00Colton Cabin MtBPalooza '13<div style="text-align: center;">
A fantastic weekend in Cable! Enormous thanks to Josh for hosting a grand guys weekend. The riding was stellar, the meals were fit for royals and beverages flowed from eternal springs. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Esker night ride</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friday Sunset</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prepping the Saturday Feast meal</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grand drinking</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some vinyl got spun</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big day on the trails. Hayward to Cable on singletrack!</td></tr>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-31638071175972674212013-10-18T14:37:00.003-07:002013-10-18T14:39:51.623-07:00Fall Fun<div style="text-align: center;">
Just a quick recap of some recent activities. </div>
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Last month my in-laws brought down a ton of blackberries from the UP. There were far too many to eat so we decided to try a blackberry wine. It should be ready to bottle around thanksgiving. </div>
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Kerry and I have been out on a few hikes enjoying the fall scenery. Here are a few shots from a recent trip to Afton State Park</div>
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Biking has kind of slacked off a bit lately and has been much more fun focused rather than training focused. We had Wall of Death hill climb competition at BC. Good times. Tis the season to get the fat-bike out. I took the pugsley down to Arcola for a little exploring last week. </div>
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Heath, aka Red Squirrel wins the hill climb contest at BC!</div>
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We also picked out our christmas tree Kruegers last weekend. Dibs on a nice one!</div>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-5128117995678860782013-10-04T14:32:00.002-07:002013-10-04T14:38:32.233-07:00Heck Of The North '13<div style="text-align: center;">
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The Heck of the North is a race I've known about for a few years now but due to busy fall schedules and vacations, I've never signed up for it. This year, our fall looked fairly open so I figured I better take advantage of it and sign up for the event. I've heard great stuff about it and really looked forward to seeing 100+ miles of new gravel and forest roads north of Duluth and Two Harbors. </div>
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The weather wasn't looking good for Saturday's race so I prepared as best I could for a long day of racing in the rain. This includes the oh so stylish, shower cap over the helmet. I pulled into TH around 8 on Friday night. Ky and Scott had pulled his parents camper trailer up earlier in the day and they had camp all set up. This was a great way to "camp" before the race. Especially if it was going to be wet in the morning. </div>
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We woke on Saturday morning to a mostly clear sky and fairly warm weather. I was ecstatic. Starting a race in the rain is no fun. Once on the bike and rolling it doesn't really matter to me what happens but it sure was nice, to be able to get ready and visit with others in the parking lot without any precip. I chatted briefly with the rest of our usual training crew while getting ready. Bob, Larry, Brett, Scott and Jose were all dialed and ready to hit it.</div>
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The race began with a great 4 mile stretch of doubletrack that was riddled with rocks, grass clumps and the odd stick for good measure. Within those first few miles there was already a handful of people lining the road with flat tires. This affirmed my choice about riding the mtn bike. The next dozen miles we were on a gorgeous gravel road and Bob and I rode together for most of it and chatted about how great we thought the course was. </div>
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By the time we hit our first section of snowmobile trail (hummocks of grass floating on a bog) the field of 200 was pretty well stretched out. We crossed a wooden trail bridge and then bushwhacked around a large open water section in the trail. After this, we started to rise up onto solid ground. The trail was still a bit rough and I started to make my way around people on skinny tired cross bikes.</div>
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In a mile or so I hit the first section of tar on the course and a few of the skinnies caught up to me. I latched onto them and we pacelined for a few miles before the group fell apart on some rollers. Strangely enough, I was up in front and feeling decent. We hit gravel and I continued on at my own pace. Then the rains hit. It started with a light drizzle but quickly came on and meant business. I reached into the side pocket of my pack and threw the old shower cap over the helmet. It's very nice to have that water dripping off the edges and brim of the helmet rather than coming through it and draining sweat salted rivers over your face and eyes. </div>
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At mile 50 I was soaked, it was raining hard, the roads were greasy and the first freight train of leaders were oncoming and blazed by on their return leg from the checkpoint. They were almost 20 miles ahead of me and flat flying.</div>
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I got to the checkpoint at the top of Seven Bridges Road in Duluth and quickly located my pack and refueled in the comfort of a garage and EZup tent. Probably spent a leisurely 20 minutes putting some real food in me and mixing new bottles of drink for the last 45 miles. I put on my rain jacket and headed out just as Jose and Larry were coming in. Also ran into Kyleen on the road north of the checkpoint. It's always a nice pick me up to have spectators around and encouraging you. </div>
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Around mile 75, I had been chatting with a veteran of the race who was riding it on a lovely old Trek steel frame that he had converted to a single speed. He was telling me that even though we had been climbing and going into the wind for the last 10 miles, soon that would all change and we were about to turn with the wind and begin a long shallow downhill on the beautiful Fox Farm Rd. With that, my rear tire went flat. Of all the crap we had ridden through, rocks, rubble, sharp gravel, my tire goes flat on the pavement. I'm blaming hooligans with bottles. Then shortly after that I guess I'll have to blame myself for not properly topping off my stans fluid. The inside of the tire was dry. Changing the tire in muddy conditions proved to be a bit more involved than usual. The wheel was so caked in grit, I had to spray off the valve stem with my water bottle just to remove the retaining nut.</div>
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Once back on the road I was feeling a little bummed and my pace turned south for a while. I was a bit chilled and also started to feel a bit empty on fuel. It seemed like I should still be full from gorging at the checkpoint but I still new I had to eat something. Tore open a granola bar munched it down over the next mile or so. At mile 80 or so, I rolled up on some parked cars and a gaggle of people around a campfire built along the side of the road. Immediately a smile came to my face and I felt energized as I rolled up. "Food, Beer, Water, Pop?" they were yelling. I had them add some water to one of my bottles and now, suddenly feeling festive, I took them up on a can of Hamms. I slugged about 2/3rds of it and thanked them immensely for being out there. The "Hospitality Stop" was exactly the surprise I needed to re-light my fire. I tore off down Fox Farm road.</div>
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Ten miles before the end of the race we turned onto another swamp and moss covered snowmobile trail. At first I was dreading it as I just wanted to roll along to the finish. Dread quickly turned to elation as I continued chugging through many sections that others were walking. This led to passing a whole lot of people in the last few miles. By the time I hit the last section of doubletrack back to the parking lot I was on a mission; catch up to and pass as many people as I could. It was a hoot. I ended up finishing with a total time of 8 hours 34 minutes. Of the 200 people that started, 156 stuck it out and finished it. All of our crew are die hards and slogged through it. I came in 93rd. </div>
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A great big thanks to Jeremy Kershaw and all the volunteers that help put on this awesome free event.</div>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-82207438992862698272013-09-13T14:35:00.002-07:002013-09-13T14:35:54.650-07:00UP Back Road Connection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
While up at Kerry's parents over Labor day this year I had a chance to get out and do a little exploring on a back roads route I've been curious about. I knew at some point that Kerry wanted to hit Agate beach near Misery Bay to do some rock picking and hopefully snatch a few of the big lake gems. I figured this would provide a good opportunity to start at the beach and ride the back roads and snowmobile trails back to Ontonagon. I opted not to do the Copper Harbor FTF this weekend so this was a good alternative. </div>
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No agates in the shot above but we did find some that day. Along with plenty of other rocks to fill Kerry's tumbler. After a little picking I packed up and headed out. The route I planned looked to be about 40 miles and I had roughly 4 hours before suppertime. Off I went.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Misery bay in the foreground with Wolf Point and 14 Mile Point in the distance. There's great abandoned lighthouse on 14 Mile point.</td></tr>
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The route started with a mix of gravel and tar roads then after a few miles I turned onto my main southbound (SW) connector called Camp 18 road. It starts off as a typical gravel, maintained road and begins to deteriorate after a few mile to something a little more entertaining. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6f0bO0BUBSk/UipIqPY1_SI/AAAAAAAAD1s/hV5beylGYPY/s1600/IMG_5664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6f0bO0BUBSk/UipIqPY1_SI/AAAAAAAAD1s/hV5beylGYPY/s640/IMG_5664.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A tiny dam on the Misery river</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-woO1uOVdlsI/UipIs4CSuhI/AAAAAAAAD2A/hOtE-g5iCJo/s1600/IMG_5665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-woO1uOVdlsI/UipIs4CSuhI/AAAAAAAAD2A/hOtE-g5iCJo/s640/IMG_5665.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice timber and plank bridge</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TVKQ_KgGluE/UipIt1kdAgI/AAAAAAAAD2I/Akmnho_QgaU/s1600/IMG_5666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TVKQ_KgGluE/UipIt1kdAgI/AAAAAAAAD2I/Akmnho_QgaU/s640/IMG_5666.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camp 18 Rd gets a little narrower.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CHL9K7PK99w/UipIutTt9CI/AAAAAAAAD2Q/skIZD5goffc/s1600/IMG_5668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CHL9K7PK99w/UipIutTt9CI/AAAAAAAAD2Q/skIZD5goffc/s640/IMG_5668.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No bridge for this crossing, guess it's time for some wet feet.</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
About 17 miles into the journey I came to the Sleeping River. I suspected there may not be a bridge at this crossing as I could not see one from studying the air photos online. I new the river wasn't that big so I wasn't too worried about having to cross it. Once across, it was just a few more miles of riding until I came to some familiar territory that I had previously explored from the south. I had made the connection. </div>
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For the next few miles I had the choice to explore some snowmobile trail that I had not been down before, or take the known doubletrack back to "Four Corners" and "Camp 12". This would have been the easy way but since I was looking pretty good on time, I opted for more exploration. Which brought me through the following mess.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nggVQJkBEjE/UipIyLZvLSI/AAAAAAAAD2o/b2BY1V_JWYM/s1600/IMG_5670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nggVQJkBEjE/UipIyLZvLSI/AAAAAAAAD2o/b2BY1V_JWYM/s640/IMG_5670.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It should get better after the next puddle, I kept telling myself.</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
After a couple miles of intermittently walking and dodging sinkholes it did get better and I was back on solid ground and making good time. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5cosPl6C-BI/UipIxRY5T8I/AAAAAAAAD2Y/DydlnyOF3BM/s1600/IMG_5671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5cosPl6C-BI/UipIxRY5T8I/AAAAAAAAD2Y/DydlnyOF3BM/s640/IMG_5671.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glad I didn't try to wheelie over this one. Beaver has been dredging his shipping lanes, I guess.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q1ypgjrdk6w/UipIxm26GiI/AAAAAAAAD2c/RhkegEp-GJ8/s1600/IMG_5672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q1ypgjrdk6w/UipIxm26GiI/AAAAAAAAD2c/RhkegEp-GJ8/s640/IMG_5672.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Local traffic</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qy5Ir1NS2F0/UipI0JDlQ5I/AAAAAAAAD2s/B65oXalI3L4/s1600/IMG_5678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qy5Ir1NS2F0/UipI0JDlQ5I/AAAAAAAAD2s/B65oXalI3L4/s640/IMG_5678.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bear Creek road. Last few miles of gravel before getting close to Ontonagon.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RfyfS-QCZ_8/UipI2xFw0xI/AAAAAAAAD3A/neghdTOqEfM/s1600/IMG_5680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RfyfS-QCZ_8/UipI2xFw0xI/AAAAAAAAD3A/neghdTOqEfM/s640/IMG_5680.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ole Element got it's first real taste of mud riding. </td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
The ride ended up to be about 43 miles total and It's nice to know that I can ride that section all the way through to Agate Beach. From there I believe I could also make a route on mostly gravel roads all the way up to Houghton. </div>
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="http://www.strava.com/activities/78770825/embed/e411df9df24737e49bb406fee90665ff8ce02dcf" width="590"></iframe>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-37625636816513921212013-08-12T10:13:00.000-07:002013-08-12T13:02:12.827-07:00Canadian Rockies Pt. 2 - Jasper and Icefields Parkway<div style="text-align: center;">
After leaving Golden and driving through Yoho Nat. Park we headed up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper National Park where we camped for a few days. The parkway is 140 miles of jaw dropping scenery. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aFyD0KbPPMA/UgQEsEmRioI/AAAAAAAADvI/xJmK089jwp0/s1600/IMG_5249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aFyD0KbPPMA/UgQEsEmRioI/AAAAAAAADvI/xJmK089jwp0/s640/IMG_5249.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our campsite along the Athabasca in Jasper</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tsNryuxW8Uc/UgQErayxHYI/AAAAAAAADu8/ZVvbW9BKFm4/s1600/IMG_5256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tsNryuxW8Uc/UgQErayxHYI/AAAAAAAADu8/ZVvbW9BKFm4/s640/IMG_5256.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steps away from the tent</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LrReizeeHt8/UgQEsH8pRPI/AAAAAAAADvE/zT52DR-D-pQ/s1600/IMG_5251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LrReizeeHt8/UgQEsH8pRPI/AAAAAAAADvE/zT52DR-D-pQ/s640/IMG_5251.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's a gorgeous 3 mile run into downtown Jasper along this trail.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C5BHKblNv4I/Ugklcd6H3GI/AAAAAAAADxg/NEockOf-Rl0/s1600/IMG_20130701_073607_863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C5BHKblNv4I/Ugklcd6H3GI/AAAAAAAADxg/NEockOf-Rl0/s640/IMG_20130701_073607_863.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The other end of the trail near downtown Jasper,</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OWSQi_KjzEg/UgQEudPjn8I/AAAAAAAADvg/BTcRmgi8OiI/s1600/IMG_5262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OWSQi_KjzEg/UgQEudPjn8I/AAAAAAAADvg/BTcRmgi8OiI/s640/IMG_5262.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maligne gorge</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AKGL76h8FQI/UgQEt_Vs3TI/AAAAAAAADvU/crZiB2LKcss/s1600/IMG_5275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AKGL76h8FQI/UgQEt_Vs3TI/AAAAAAAADvU/crZiB2LKcss/s640/IMG_5275.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kerry and I almost bought this but then thought we'd save our $1M for something else and mostly because we couldn't fit it in the car.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Df_UV7vUHy0/UgQEubsfpBI/AAAAAAAADvc/1vfgPiNPSj4/s1600/IMG_5277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Df_UV7vUHy0/UgQEubsfpBI/AAAAAAAADvc/1vfgPiNPSj4/s640/IMG_5277.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medicine Lake</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VVK7mx-HR54/UgQEwC2NEHI/AAAAAAAADvs/5tby0QiDXK8/s1600/IMG_5282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VVK7mx-HR54/UgQEwC2NEHI/AAAAAAAADvs/5tby0QiDXK8/s640/IMG_5282.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medicine Lake</td></tr>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x9G_44G5ZdE/UgQEwaQx2DI/AAAAAAAADvw/fLUvuUqTQak/s1600/IMG_5289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x9G_44G5ZdE/UgQEwaQx2DI/AAAAAAAADvw/fLUvuUqTQak/s640/IMG_5289.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lfmbroYHAkc/UgQEwoD0f2I/AAAAAAAADv0/cBf6M9YEOJ4/s1600/IMG_5294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lfmbroYHAkc/UgQEwoD0f2I/AAAAAAAADv0/cBf6M9YEOJ4/s640/IMG_5294.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maligne Lake</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dVlW3iBR7W0/UgQEyw0-atI/AAAAAAAADwM/FvcN0HxssPo/s1600/IMG_5308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dVlW3iBR7W0/UgQEyw0-atI/AAAAAAAADwM/FvcN0HxssPo/s640/IMG_5308.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maligne River with Collin Range in background</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-me7m7-LiUYo/UgQFotz6QZI/AAAAAAAADwk/ydiZ7k6JzYQ/s1600/IMG_5319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-me7m7-LiUYo/UgQFotz6QZI/AAAAAAAADwk/ydiZ7k6JzYQ/s640/IMG_5319.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt. Edith Cavell</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sa-xWPGgRdI/UgQFnhfdkvI/AAAAAAAADwU/4OeGsCrjz6E/s1600/IMG_5336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sa-xWPGgRdI/UgQFnhfdkvI/AAAAAAAADwU/4OeGsCrjz6E/s640/IMG_5336.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunwapta Falls</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oIGlCHqgXhE/UgQFoId3MpI/AAAAAAAADwY/WXPcpvZg0Rc/s1600/IMG_5345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oIGlCHqgXhE/UgQFoId3MpI/AAAAAAAADwY/WXPcpvZg0Rc/s640/IMG_5345.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riding the glacier crawlers onto the Athabasca glacier</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QzQJFUKovk0/UgQFscLOWsI/AAAAAAAADxA/Vzgsf1-MkFs/s1600/IMG_5369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QzQJFUKovk0/UgQFscLOWsI/AAAAAAAADxA/Vzgsf1-MkFs/s640/IMG_5369.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roadside attraction on the Icefields Parkway. This fine looking gal was ravaging the top of this tree. She had two of her cubs parked three branches down.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ol_8a_KXN40/UgQFsc6aCVI/AAAAAAAADw8/e97K8dwVgMk/s1600/IMG_5372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ol_8a_KXN40/UgQFsc6aCVI/AAAAAAAADw8/e97K8dwVgMk/s640/IMG_5372.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And a little perspective to show how high she was.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weeping wall.<br />
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Canada trip pictures to be continued . . .</div>
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This past weekend was the Rusty Ride and I had a great time getting a traildust tan and sharing good times with friends and family. I'll have to do a little write up on that also. </div>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-8337919839818373302013-07-29T10:21:00.001-07:002013-07-29T10:21:10.492-07:00Canadian Rockies Part 1 - BC<div style="text-align: center;">
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Road trip time! A couple of weeks ago Kerry and I set off for Canada. Since words can hardly do these places justice I'm just going to slam a bunch of pictures in here with some quick captions. In short, the trip was awesome. Saskatchewan makes Nebraska look like a theme park and the Canadian Rockies are truly amazing. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inukshuk in the middle of nowhere</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After a late night of driving, Kerry was happy to sleep in the car and not set up the tent. It was a perfect night for stargazing so I crashed on the picnic table. We were back on the road early in the morning. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Frank landslide near Crow's Nest, Alberta</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Worlds largest truck in Sparwood, BC</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just north of Skookumchuk, BC</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Afternoon ride with Kerry on the Rotary trails around Golden, BC</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting a ride on a beautiful morning in Golden</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down on the town of Golden</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crossing the Columbia on a one lane bridge<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Takawkaw Falls, Yoho National Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1200 foot drop</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first view of a sizeable alpine glacier<br /><br />To be cont'd . . .</td></tr>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-22063147110719173132013-06-26T09:29:00.000-07:002013-06-26T09:33:28.674-07:00U.P. Weekend<div style="text-align: center;">
A few weekends ago Kerry and I made a quick weekend run up to her parents for some fishing on the big lake. Kerry's dad has had a boat since she was a little kid but it has been out of commission for quite some time. He recently got the boat going again and this would be my first time fishing from it out on Superior. </div>
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We headed out to the boat launch on the Ontonagon river around 7:30 on Saturday morning. The winds were calm and the sun was out. The river was high and was dumping plenty of silt into Superior from the recent rains. Fishing wasn't great but we managed to avoid being skunked. It was great to be out on the water.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captain Kerry!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">High Tech</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old school</td></tr>
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Coho Salmon</div>
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I got out for a couple of rides over the weekend also. Did some hill climbing on Victoria Road and did some exploring on the forest roads to the NE of Kerry's parents. The water was high in all of the creeks in the area. When I came to the crossing in the picture below, I noticed movement in the water as I was scouting for the best spot to ford. There were two 6" trout hanging in the pool just above my rear tire in the picture. </div>
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Saturday evening was perfect for a walk so we headed down to the beach for sunset. We had a small fire and I engaged in driftwood shenanigans. No rocks to stack/balance on this beach so I have to resort to other challenges. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tallest Driftwood Tip-up I've managed to raise. There's close to 3' in the ground. No, I didn't dig a hole. </td></tr>
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<br />StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-81847808965080756342013-06-06T14:30:00.000-07:002013-06-06T14:30:00.570-07:00Sista Ky, Rockin' the Buffalo Tri<div style="text-align: center;">
Last weekend we got to watch my sister do her first triathlon of the year. She's been training like mad and it seems to have paid off. She did very well and it was a ton of fun to watch her. There's always a lot going on at a triathlon so they are very spectator friendly. Nice job out there, Kyleen!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She's the one with the green cap</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After a killer pace in the swim!</td></tr>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-15254625181540609092013-04-19T15:29:00.001-07:002013-04-19T15:29:14.351-07:00Makin' Stuff<div style="text-align: center;">
Here are a few things I've been keeping busy with while Mother Nature gets her seasons figured out.</div>
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This is a batch of Pale Ale that I brewed about 2 months ago. It's drinking very well right now. As an experiment I stuffed whole hops into a four bottles. Two bottles of Willamette and two bottles of Cascade. I put 3 cones of each in one set of bottles and 6 cones of each in the other pair. </div>
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I'm also trying my hand at wine. This one is completely from a juice kit. The kit was WineExpert Vintners Reserve Mezza Luna Red and it yielded 29 bottles that are now resting in the cellar. We'll see how it turns out. Reviews on it are pretty good so hopefully this fall we'll have a nice supply of red to be enjoying. With any luck maybe we'll give some sort of fruit wine a try this summer. </div>
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For Christmas, Kerry got a rock tumbler. She is interested in expanding her jewelry making skills and is curious about wire wrapping. Both of us like to collect rocks so she decided it'd be fun to polish some of them up and see how they look. My parents had quite a few sitting around so we tumbled some of theirs also. End result turned out pretty neat. These were done with the basic 4 step grits that were included with the kit. Next time we'll get 'em even shinier with 5 step abrasive and buff. </div>
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I've been collecting parts for almost a year now, with the intent of building up a new mountain bike this spring. It's been a long and fun process and now it's time to start assembling some stuff. Front wheel #1: Stans Crest rim, XT 15mm CL hub, Wheelsmith 14/17 spokes with alloy nips. </div>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-42556692339287413102013-04-11T22:04:00.001-07:002013-04-11T22:04:42.553-07:00Spring Skiing at Copper Mountain<div style="text-align: center;">
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Over Easter this year our whole family was traveling. Mom and Dad were on a road trip to Utah to see our cousins Kat and Paul, and Kerry and I were lucky enough to be able to join Kyleen and Scott on a ski trip to Copper Mountain. </div>
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We left MN early on a Wednesday morning and by 2PM that afternoon we had our skis on and were getting a quick couple of runs in for our first taste of altitude. We were extremely pleased with the snow conditions. Copper had gotten about 8-10 inches in the previous week, and despite it being late spring, that snow was still powdery on most of the mountain.</div>
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On Friday my friend Will was able to come up and join us for the day. We spent the morning skiing a bunch of stuff on the front side of the mountain then had an early lunch and hit the back bowls to session some serious vertical. The snow was awesome and we were cooked by 3 o'clock. It was then time to hit JJ's bar and listen to some great music and enjoy some well earned beverages.</div>
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We stayed in a condo just a short walk from one of the main lifts. We ate all of our breakfasts and lunches in the condo and at least one supper. Scott approves of the nights menu. </div>
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Our last couple of days brought a bit of new snow followed by some spring sunshine. </div>
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Copper was Kerry's old stomping grounds when she lived out here, so it was fun having her remember runs and give us on advice on the good stuff. All of us got schooled in high speed carving from my sister, the racer chick. Dang, she can fly down the hill. I think the "Slow Zone" ski patrols were giving her the hairy eyeball every once in a while.</div>
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There's nothing better than skiing all morning, then stopping mid-hill and kicking back in lawn chairs and having a snack in the warm sun at the Tiki bar. Spring skiing at its best!</div>
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After four days of skiing, Kyleen and I decided we still had the legs on us to eek out a few more runs on our last morning at the resort. We caught the front chair and headed directly to the back bowl. We were met with a few inches of fresh snow and were the first ones to make tracks down to the Resolution chair at the base of the bowl. A fantastic way to start our last morning of skiing!</div>
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To cap off an already great trip, we got to have an Easter dinner prepared by Chef Jim at his house in Lakewood. Ray, Laura, Eamon and Tighe were able to join us as well as Will and his girlfriend Kristin. Dinner was phenomenal and great times were had catching up with great friends. </div>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-60018225492789576142013-03-20T14:37:00.000-07:002013-03-20T14:37:15.857-07:00Wisco Weekend<div style="text-align: center;">
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Since winter is still firmly entrenched around here, Kerry and I decided to make the best of it and get away for one last weekend of XC skiing. We purchased a groupon for a weekend stay at the Heartwood Conference Center and Resort near Minong. We had not been there before but the place looked pretty nice online, and also had a ski trail system on site so we decided to go for it. We got a room with a small kitchenette so we were able to fix up our own meals. <br />
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We drove up on Friday night and met the snowstorm head-on as we made our way to Hinckley. Traffic on the freeway was cruising along but the surface was starting to get slick. We saw 12 cars in the ditch between North Branch and Hinckley. Two of those were rollovers. We made our way over to Danbury where we stopped at the Fishbowl and had a fantastic fish fry. Me, blackened and Kerry had the lightly battered Tilapia. Both were excellent. We washed it down with a good beer and cider. <br />
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We pulled into the resort around 9:30 and were impressed at how nice the place was. Saturday we had a lazy morning of making steel cut oats with blueberries and cranberries and planning our summer road trip (Canadian Rockies!). It was in the single digits so we weren't in too much of a hurry to get out on the trails. <br />
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By noon, the sun was out in force and it was time to get the skis on. This was my first time skiing since my wrist surgery and I was quite happy to find that when I started poling, the wrist felt pretty good. The trails had been groomed the day before but now had a three inch coating of fresh stuff. The temp was now around 24 but the sun was beating down hard causing the snow to melt in some areas, and as we transitioned from a melting area to a cold area the bottoms of our skis were icing up and making for some very interesting conditions ("skiing" more akin to snowshoeing). We made our way to the warming shack out on the trail system where we had a tasty snack and continued around the loop back to our home base for some lounging, spaghetti cooking and wine drinking. <br />
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Sunday morning we made breakfast, went for a short walk around the resort and made our way back home. A great weekend away!<br />
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-58195141467357127412013-03-09T12:11:00.000-08:002013-03-09T12:11:02.068-08:00Standing Cedars and a Morning Treat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last summer, Kerry and I did some exploring on the Wisconsin side of the river on the motorcycle. On a pleasantly winding road skirting the bluffs of the St. Croix, we came across a State Natural Area. It looked interesting, so I kept it in mind for future exploration. </div>
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Last weekend I decided it was time for that exploring. I got my stuff together the night before and made my way out of the house dark and early. I caught the sunrise in Wisconsin.</div>
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There's a small parking area alongside the road and when I arrived, there was a van parked there with a thick coat of frost on it, clearly indicating that it had been there a while I liked seeing this as it tells me that it's probably OK to park there overnight. I threw the snowshoes and backpack on and headed off. </div>
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A minutes of hiking and I came to the forested bluffs and a view over an old boyscout camp. This is private land adjacent to the natural area.</div>
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I'm guessing the van passengers are holed up in this valley hideaway. </div>
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After crossing a few more small valleys I found a nice high point overlooking the river and pulled out my stuff to have a little snack with a nice view. </div>
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Time to head back home and start the rest of the Saturday. A bedroom painting project is calling my name. </div>
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StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406829201394015678.post-66336226731355771792013-03-05T12:55:00.002-08:002013-03-05T12:55:10.082-08:00A Weekend Up North<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
A couple of weekends ago we spent some time with the fam up at our cabin. My wrist was still in a brace so no skiing or snowmobiling (actually sold our sled to save up for a better one) but we managed to get out an have some fun snowshoeing and fishing and eating lots of good food. </div>
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Spotted on our walk down to Dagget brook. This guy fell and couldn't get up. </div>
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Scott brings in the big catch of the day</div>
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<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='640' height='532' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/QldbCASjkVQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br />StCroixTroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13208804413376954164noreply@blogger.com0