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David Schlabowske

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    The Northwoods Ramble 11: The Winter that Wasn’t

    Posted on February 8, 2024

    It feels like we never really experienced winter this year. By New Year’s Day we still had green grass with snow highlights in yard, so Liz and I decided to start the year with a paddle down the Namekagon River. I followed that with a couple bikerafting trips on the same river over the next couple weeks. Last year at the same time, we already had three feet of snow on the ground and had been skiing since the end of October.

    Two Bald Eagles flew over us during this short video snippet of our longer paddle down the river.

    During the last couple winters we experienced La Niña weather cycles; this year was a full El Niño compounded by the warmest year on the planet on record by a longshot. When nature, with human help (re: climate change), gives you lemons, you try to make lemonade. So the upside of a warm, almost snowless winter in the Northwoods is you can ride anywhere: gravel roads, empty snowmobile trails and the CAMBA mountain bike trails had so little snow and were frozen enough that I almost didn’t need a fat bike to ride.

    I have also been trying to to circumnavigate the frozen lakes around me. Without much snow, I thought this winter would mean great lake riding, but that has also been hit and miss because of the unusually warm temps. There is lots of good ice out there, but it is not consistent, so I have had to be extra cautious always carrying ice picks, a throw rope and often wearing a PFD when I ride lakes.

    I have managed to ride a bit on the Chequamegon Bay. I went up to Washburn with my buddy Tom Schuler and we rode around for an hour or two in the fog. It was kind of erie and a bit scary, but we were comforted by a handful of people ice fishing. I did get wet when my front tire broke through the ice and dropped in the lake while riding over a pressure ridge. I went over the bars and was lucky to land on the ice with just one leg going in the lake. I still ride with emergency ice picks and a PFD for safety.

    I’ve tried to ride around Lake Owen a bunch of times, but have never been able to completely circumnavigate the entire lake as the narrows and bays have had open water every time I’ve been on the ice. The last attempt I got on the ice at Metros Landing and was able to ride all the way around the southern two thirds of the lake, but was stopped at the northern narrow and entrance to Otter Bay which were both open water. I did manage to ride entirely around Mineral Lake, which feeds the Brunsweiler River, just north of Clam Lake. And I have also been able to circumnavigate Lake Helene.

    But mostly I’ve just been riding singletrack and gravel roads. I recently put studded tires on my Milwaukee Bicycle Company 29er hard tail, as the snow levels are so low that my fat bike is overkill. And you only really need studded tires in the morning. By the afternoon, with temps in the 40s, regular mtb tires are probably fine.

    Even if we have an early spring and visitors start coming back for mountain biking, gravel riding, ATV trails and fishing, I’m not sure if the local businesses are going to be able to make up the losses they all took this winter.

    It really is still great riding in the forest, so I’d encourage everyone to come visit. And if you do, order an extra Old Fashioned or leave a generous tip please. It will really be appreciated.

    Northwoods Ramble Show 11

    It’s been a month since the last Ramble. I guess that is better than the two months between show 9 and 10. Anyway, Seeley Dave and TJ are back for Northwoods Ramble Show 11 and a review of the winter that wasn’t. 2024 started out with a New Years Day paddle down the Namekagon River for Dave and Liz. With almost no snow this winter, we go swale watching to see the piles of manmade snow the Birkie has stored and intends to spread out to create a 10K loop for the 50th. TJ explains a bit about the Birkie’s snowmaking capabilities. We discuss the huge economic hit the area has taken from winter lack of visitors. Dave gives an update on his frozen lake riding goals.

    Give the podcast a watch below or on Youtube or a listen on Spotify/Apple.

    The show is best viewed as a video on Spotify or YouTube to see the routes and gear we review, but you can stream just the audio if that is more convenient.

    Below is a list of the Bikepacking Gear Lending Library Equipment I have available to loan as of this podcast. Email me at seeleydave2021@gmail.com if you are interested in borrowing any of it.
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