Nature's Neutrals

The morning began with dense fog, but soon the sun rose and burned it away, leaving the trees draped in white frozen mist.

The sun continued to strengthen enough that the skies became blue and long shadows of tree trunks darkened stripes of bright white snow.

Charlie found our trail in great shape after last week's ice storm and subsequent inch of snow from the other day.

It was pure bliss to walk free of the fear of falling on ice now that we had something substantial to grip into. Although the light "crust" of ice/snow on the top layer made me keep watch for blood in Charlie's footprints in case her paw pads got too roughed up from cracking through repeatedly.

We enjoyed a good hour of soaking up sun and getting our heart rates up as we kept a fast pace on the empty trail.

But soon, the skies grew cloudy and a brisk cold wind picked up from across the lake. I slowed down to put my hood up and play fetch with Charlie for a bit as we took a break to re-hydrate and have a snack.

I marveled at the change in scenery from bright crisp snow and defined shadow-lines only an hour ago to the now muted neutrals of nature's grays and blues. Even though the snow was still bright, I was able to remove my sunglasses and enjoy an unfiltered view for the remainder of our walk.

The aerators have been turned on in the reservoir to improve oxygen levels in the water for the fish but causing parts of the frozen lake to thin and thaw. This area is now roped off from ice fisherman and snowmobilers for safety, but we were able to get a good view from shore. The noise from the pump house was loud and ugly though, so we trudged on quickly to get away and back to the quiet woods.

Charlie was finally tired out as we drove home for the day. A treat of frozen oxtails picked up from the local meat market thawed out on the backseat while we were out... something for her to look forward to when we get home.

Hopefully with this ice storm behind us and sidewalks melting, we can get back to our much-needed evening walks during the week. Charlie has "invented" another issue recently... she's now chasing and barking at cars driving by the one-way street that lies along our house. She watches from her window seat in the living room and jumps down barking through the apartment to the kitchen window in the back of the house until they pass about another block up, and then she settles down again. Not every car, either. Just some cars. Ugh. It's another one of those "border collie" things... her brain is bored from inactivity so she's making up a job to do... protecting our neighborhood from cars. At least today she got tired out and hopefully we can *cure* her of this invented bad habit before it gets worse.

Ahh... the challenges of a super-smart dog.

WIND!

We had a long 3-day weekend this past weekend to celebrate Alan's birthday, but Friday turned out to be too bitterly cold to do anything outdoors. With temps in the low single digits and wind chills of below zero, we ended up playing games with Charlie's toys inside, eating good food and taking naps.

By Saturday morning, the temps had risen to the high teens, so we ventured out to snowshoe the frozen marshy areas around the Mosinee Flowage and explore some areas that we didn't have a chance to check out with the kayaks last summer.

The wind was pretty strong and snow was beginning to fall, so the conditions were still not awesome, but we got a couple of miles of snowshoeing in and Charlie had a great time exploring the shoreline with us. We didn't find any great treasures, but we'll definitely be back to explore more in our kayaks when the water thaws!

I was really wanting to get some good miles of hiking in this weekend, so Charlie and I headed out to Big Eau Pleine Reservoir on Sunday in hopes of enjoying some quiet trail time. As soon as I stepped out of the car though, I realized there would be no "quiet" time today. The winds were fiercely howling across the lake and the trees were groaning as limbs waved and rubbed together. The roar of the wind was almost deafening! And little "snow tornadoes" were zipping through the open fields.

But, since we were already there, I figured we'd make the best of it and see how long we could last. Luckily the temps were in the low 30's, so even with the wind chill, it was pretty decent.

We romped around on our favorite peninsula for a bit until the wind was just too much and then headed back. Unfortunately I'm one of those people who absolutely *hates* wind. It's just so annoying!

VIDEO (Insane Wind! Sound on for full effect):

As we followed the trail back to the parking area, I realized that our footprints were completely erased in just 45 minutes! The wind had blown snow into our tracks and they were nowhere to be found. Crazy.

Kind of makes me wonder if this is a prelude to "March coming in like a lion?" I sure hope so... we're ready for spring!

Cherokee County Park

I've driven past the sign leading to Cherokee County Park numerous times on trips between Wausau and Minneapolis on Hwy 29, but never felt compelled to pull off and check it out. I used to have a stronger sense of adventure, but sometimes I'm left feeling disappointed and almost ripped-off when I follow a sign to a new destination only to find it is not scenic or fun at all.

But a recent post on the Women Hiking Wisconsin Facebook Group suggested this park as a "hidden gem." So, of course, I had to take a look for myself.

Charlie, Alan and myself ventured out on Saturday since the park was only about a 30-minute drive from our place. Upon arriving, we found that the parking area is closed off and not maintained in the winter, but the snowplow had "swooped" into the drive enough to make one parking space along the side of the road.

We parked and kept Charlie in the vehicle away from the traffic zipping by at high speeds while we put on our snow shoes and then leashed her up and trekked around the gate down to the park and trail head.

The Big Eau Pleine River was silent, sealed in ice and capped off with snow. But the rounded "marshmallows" of rocks covered in snow whisper of babbling and roaring of water when winter releases its grip on the river.

The scenic trail meanders along the river's shore for about a mile and then runs into private property, where we turned back.

The park definitely has some great amenities once the weather warms up and it's open again... a playground, picnic shelters, restrooms and a scenic spillway/dam that allows some access to view the river from water level.

I'm super excited to keep this park on our list of options once the weather warms up. It's far enough away from populated areas that I think it'll be a quiet respite from other busier and well-known parks.

This truly is a hidden gem!

Winter's Downward Slope

After nearly a month of sub-zero temperatures, we finally had some blissfully mild weather this weekend! This January thaw was a much-needed respite from the cold, dark days of winter and even though I know spring is a long ways off, it reminded me that winter is almost over and we're on the downward slope now.

Charlie, Alan and myself hiked at Big Eau Pleine County Park on Saturday and I even worked up the courage to hike across part of the frozen reservoir... something I've always been too afraid to do by myself.

VIDEO (Charlie running across the frozen ice):

Charlie hiked nearly double our own miles, zipping around in circles, running ahead of us and then running back to check on our forward progress. She was ecstatic to be outside enjoying our favorite trails again after being cooped up in the house for so long.

She had us laughing most of the time with her silly antics... finding sticks and tricking us into throwing them for her and "hunting" mice beneath the snow... listening to their little rodent highway and then pouncing!

VIDEO (mouse-hunting):

After a long and leisurely day of hiking, Charlie was content to go to bed early. Every time I checked on her, she was in a different position, but always peacefully snuggled into the duvet.

...

Since Sunday was a football day for Alan, Charlie and I went out for a hike on our own. This time we headed for Dells of the Eau Claire County Park.

The normally noisy rapids were eerily quiet, frozen over under thick layers of ice. Every now and then I could hear a muted babbling far beneath the ice, but otherwise the only noise in the woods were a few birds tweeting and the crunch of the partially thawed snow under my boots.

There were very few people at the park today and most of them were exploring the river area, leaving the trails in the woods all to ourselves. We took advantage of the solitude and I allowed Charlie to romp off-leash.

We traversed as far as we could, until the trail became overrun with frozen run-off from a hillside stream that turned the trail into an ice rink. I didn't feel like ice skating today, so we turned back and hiked a few spur trails instead.

Our hike ended at a deserted picnic shelter where I found a dry picnic table to sit down for a break. I shared my apple with Charlie and played fetch with her stick, letting my muscles relax while watching Charlie's tail wag from flank to flank... so much happiness!

Charlie. Gangsta.

Just some fun with a hat this Christmas. Charlie was a good sport.