Blue Hills Trail

It’s been a warm dry fall, allowing time to prepare the trails for the upcoming ski season.  If you’d like to reflect on the beauty of the Blue Hills Trail, take a look at the following video.  It’s guaranteed to get you ready for snow.

How to view the video: on the lower right corner of the video screen, choose one of two different resolutions – for those of you with a slower internet connection, select the 360p mode; for faster connections choose either 360p or 480p.  Pause and play buttons are available, as well as volume control.  When the control buttons disappear, hover your mouse over the video to find the controls.  Just give the various control options a try – be sure to try the full screen view (the rectangle on the lower right).  Enjoy the show!

Grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, turn up your volume control, then sit back and relax.  See anyone you know?

If your time is short, try this version:

Fall colors are now at their peak, and September frosts have limited the numbers of insect pests.  Blue skies and temps in the 60s-70s offered nice hiking on the mowed trails this past weekend.  Last winter’s limited logging activity disrupted some of the skiing, but the involved trails have been dozed to create wider, smoother trails than before.  The nature of that selective harvesting of timber has not adversely affected the trails — the beauty of the woods seems unchanged.  Should be a fun winter on the trails!

Recent comments from the logbook in the warming house:

• 5/28: Spending day with daughter.  Nice day for a walk. –author’s location unknown
• 6/9: Nice day for a hike.   60 degrees F, sunny, bugs not bad. –Ladysmith, WI
• 6/23: Stopped by to enjoy.  Great work trail association!  Glad something like this is kept up!  Kudos to all!! –author’s location unknown
• 6/26: Stopped by to enjoy eating our lunch here.  –Bruce, WI
• 6/30: Came out for an awesome hike – 2 blondes at heart!. –author’s location unknown
• 7/2: Came up from Madison for vacation & decided to go for a hike.  Awesome trails.  –Madison, WI
• 7/18: Here to hike with the kids, but deer flies were so thick, we decided to picnic in the warming house instead.  Heat wave 90+. –author’s location unknown
• 9/28: Bruce boys’ cross country team ran the trails. –Bruce, WI
• 9/29: Bow hunters from the Fox Valley enjoyed the trails despite rain & gusty winds. –Fox Valley, WI

[Show as slideshow]

How to view images: To see larger versions of the thumbnail photos, view each picture individually by clicking on the thumbnail; or you can “show as slideshow” by clicking the link above the images. To move quickly through the slideshow click the photos themselves. For either option, if you want to save the image for yourself, simply right click the full size image to obtain the original.

As a result of heavy snows, cool weather, and plenty of rain, the trails are still quite soft.  Hiking mid-late May was enjoyable as long as you moved faster than the mosquitoes.

Recent comments from the logbook in the warming house:

• 4/1: Great 1-1/2 hr ski!  Wonderful!  What a way to finish off the year – or ??? –Rice Lake, WI
• 4/8: I skied a continuous ribbon of snow.  Although above freezing the snow was surprisingly firm.  –Ladysmith, WI
• 4/9: Gaps are starting to open up on the trails.  With the first crocuses blooming in my yard, I have to admit the ski season is close to being over. –Ladysmith, WI
• 5/12: Beautiful scattered showers.  –author’s location unknown
• 5/15: The Hills are beautiful.  Marsh Marigolds in full bloom.  Triliums a few days out.  The east side trails are saturated and it hasn’t rained for a week.  Its amazing how much moisture can be held on a hillside. –Barron, WI
• 5/24: Mosquitoes are fierce on the trails, enjoyable hiking if you keep moving.  Trails still quite soft. –Ladysmith, WI

[Show as slideshow]

How to view images: To see larger versions of the thumbnail photos, view each picture individually by clicking on the thumbnail; or you can “show as slideshow” by clicking the link above the images. To move quickly through the slideshow click the photos themselves. For either option, if you want to save the image for yourself, simply right click the full size image to obtain the original.