I Spy on the Trails - December 2023

Our first snow of the season in early December was a fine, wet 2 inches. But with temps in the mid-30s and 40s, it was gone before we knew it. Temperatures remained stubbornly high in the high 30s and 40s - even reaching the 50s at times - throughout the month. By Christmas week, only 14.8% of MN had any snow cover. Drought is hard.

We only had a few days this month of below freezing (32F) temps -invigorating, not discouraging on the trails. The rest of the month we had temps consistently 20-25 F higher than average. Early fall forecasts for this time predicted a drier, warmer winter with El Nino disrupting the normal weather patterns. 

According to meteorologist Paul Douglas, it is shaping up to be "probably the warmest December on record for most of Minnesota."  Climate change also is a factor, with 2023 now the warmest year on record globally. It gives me great pause. 

On the positive side, these lingering warm days made for some great hiking days in this prolonged shoulder season. As I've mentioned in a November "I Spy" post, with leaves down and undergrowth dying back, many treasures draw our eyes - from ferns and fungi to hidden rocks and geological features. I am constantly stopping on my hikes to explore, examine and admire.

Also on the plus side, the warmer temps have allowed invasives control work and prairie burns to go longer. Buckthorn eradication work was done in Vetsch Park and Stoney Point in La Crescent by the Natural Resources Advisory group and city staff. The Friends of the Blufflands and Prairie Enthusiasts did a number of burns, seeding and invasives removal across the river in the Wisconsin bluffs. Other groups did the same. It's a never-ending battle so extra days to get this work done makes a huge difference.

Below are some pictures of what I spied on this month's hikes. Happy new year and see you on the trails!

What are YOU noticing on your hikes?

Month of hikes: Vetsch Park, La Crescent MN; Trempealeau Wildlife Refuge, Pine Creek Trail, Trempealeau, WI; La Crosse Marsh trails, La Crosse WI; Riverside Park, La Crosse WI; Pickwick Quarry, La Moille MN; Beaver Creek Valley State Park, Hole in the Rim Trail, Caledonia MN; Yellow River State Forest, Luster Heights trails, Harper’s Ferry  IA; Riverside Park, La Crosse WI; Hixon Forest Hickory Trail, La Crosse WI;  Snakeroot Rail, Mathy Quarry, La Crosse WI: Beaver Creek Valley State Park, Trout Stream Trail, Caledonia MN; Veteran’s Park, Eagle Bluff access trail, La Crescent, MN 

Images - Marge Loch-Wouters, Nola Larson

First Day Hikes

First Day hikes, always scheduled for New Year's Day, are a great way to shake out the New Year's Eve cobwebs and hit the trails for some brisk hiking.  It's fun to get out to a favorite trail and see the beauty that winter hiking reveals in the stark landscapes. Or you can join a guided hike!

Many state parks sponsor guided hikes/snowshoe events and activities on that day. It's a great way to meet other winter enthusiasts and discover all that winter outdoor play has to offer in the beautiful woods and state parks. 

The American Hiking Society has a great page of information with links to other websites. 

In the Driftless, we have some excellent guided hike options including:

• Perrot State Park. WI               9:30-11:00 am  Guided Hike
• Whitewater State Park, MN    2:00-3:00pm       Guided Hike
• Frontenac State Park, MN      11 am -2:00 pm   Self- Guided Hikes (Hot chocolate and warm fire thanks to their Friends group!))
• Yellow River State Forest, IA   9:00-11:00 am   Guided Hike

Find additional lists of first day hikes at these Driftless state park websites:  MN DNR; WI DNR (search words: First Day Hike); IA DNR

You can find more information at the America's State Parks website. And you can go anywhere for your hikes

Where will your first day hike be? See you on the trails!

Image - Lloyd Lorenz

An Outdoor Group for EVERYONE

Have you ever been outdoors doing your thing - hiking, backpacking, snowshoeing, mountain biking, canoeing, kayaking, birding, cross country skiing, rock climbing - and had the distinct feeling when you see others there that you are perhaps an "only"? The only woman; the only person of color; the only person with a disability; the only LGBTQIA+ person; the only older; the only younger? 

You can get that feeling too when you are using guiding services, in outdoor recreation stores or becoming involved in lots of outdoor groups or associations.

Being an "only" - or one of a very few - can be a discouraging feeling. It's easy to feel out of place; unsafe or challenged by not feeling like part of the dominant group that is recreating. And if you long to be outdoors more, it can be off-putting. 

That's why I was so excited to learn about the Winona Outdoor Collaborative. Their mission statement says it all: "to promote inclusion and accessibility through community partnerships, environmental stewardship, and educational programming directed at reducing barriers to outdoor recreation."  

When I read this, I just had to touch base with them. Recently I sat down with Alexa Shapiro , the executive director (and Director of Trailblazing), to learn more about their programs and focus. A warm and open person, she has a Masters in Recreational Management, is a Wilderness First Responder and has over 5000 miles of backpacking on her boots, along with a variety of outdoor experiences. I asked her how the Collaborative came about.

Syd and Alexa, cofounders
Image WOC website

Originally started in 2019 as a women-centered collaborative, that first volunteer group created events where women could find - and give - support to each other as well as be part of safe and inclusive outdoor opportunities. By 2020, cofounders Alexa Shapiro and Sydney Bockelman, created the nonprofit Winona Outdoor Collaborative, expanding their focus to include "all marginalized identities in outdoor recreation." 

Image WOC website

The collaborative holds monthly events, meetups and workshops on the outdoors including hiking, backing, paddling and rock climbing. They also have outdoor equipment rentals at a very affordable cost (average cost $4 for 24 hours of rental) and guided experiences in southeastern MN's Driftless region. They hold gear swaps periodically as well (a great way to re-purpose your no longer-needed gear or pick up needed used gear at a great price).

Image WOC website

One of the new exciting projects being worked on is Bigger Hearts Adaptive Cross Country Ski program. Designed for youth from 4-17 years old with cognitive and intellectual disabilities, the goal is to offer these young people a chance to an accessible winter outdoor experience.

Funded by memberships, donations, grants and modest program fees, the group works hard to create a creative and supportive culture that recognizes and celebrates the importance of representation. The Collaborative's focus on inclusion, integrity, collaboration, environmental education and conservation speaks to their values and aspirations. They work hard on equity and inclusion issues and do thoughtful strategic brainstorming to overcome barriers so that representation truly happens..

As someone who has long noted the preponderance of male perspectives in outdoor recreations and groups associated with the outdoors, the inclusive and collaborative focus of the Winona Outdoor Collaborative is a refreshing change. I hope you consider supporting this group with your membership or donation, volunteer time or by taking part in their activities. They are truly open to all!

Be sure to explore their website to learn more.

Naturalist's Corner - Just Ducky

In this month's column, our guest is Janet Malotky, a bird watcher extraordinaire who was part of my 2022 Master Naturalist volunteer cohort. She is also a member of the Frontenac State Park Association. As an avid birder, she enjoys nothing more than getting outside, binoculars in hand, to revel in the amazing natural world around us. In this article, Janet breaks down how ducks are able to stay warm. This article first appeared in the December 2023 Frontenac State Park Association Newsletter. 

Bird Notes: Our December Ducks - and How They Keep Warm

Fall migration stirs a mist of melancholy, for while it’s exciting that our little friends come visiting on their way south, they don’t stay, and they’re trailing winter in their wake. Bird and bird species numbers continue to drop, and they stay low until spring.

A few birds, however, arrive from the north in late fall and stick around for a while to brave the fierce winter weather with us. We see rafts of them in December, bobbing in open water surrounded by ice. They’ll stick around for as long as they can find open water. 

Most of these are mixed flocks of Common Mergansers, one of our largest duck species, and Common Goldeneyes. They breed in Canada and Alaska, then fly south for the winter, mostly to large freshwater rivers and lakes in the United States, like the Mississippi and Lake Pepin. Some, especially Goldeneyes, also winter off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. 

Common Merganser and Common Goldeneye
Image - Steve Dietz

Common Merganser and Common Goldeneye males are mostly white-bodied with some black on their backs. They have dark green iridescent heads that usually appear black, as in the photograph above, taken at Sand Point. The females of both species have warm brown heads and brownish-gray bodies. In addition, female Mergansers have jazzy crests of brown feathers on their heads (best seen on the far right center bird under the flapping male’s wing). In the photo, all the birds with orange-red bills are Common Mergansers. Two Common Goldeneyes can also be identified. The Goldeneye male, center left (facing right), has a round white spot just below and forward from his eye. The female is a few duck-lengths ahead of him, just right of center, also facing right and in profile. Her brown head is the same triangular shape as her mate’s. And of course, both Goldeneyes have golden eyes.

You may wonder how in the world these birds keep from freezing to death. The first part of the answer is that their bodies are thickly covered with down underneath their feathers, which traps an insulating layer of air next to their skin. In addition, they keep their feathers waterproofed by rubbing them with oil from special glands when they preen. Lastly, they (and many other birds and mammals) have a remarkable circulatory adaptation, a “countercurrent heat exchange system” that keeps their core temperature at a more steady state, while still keeping their feet and legs from freezing.

It works like this: The cool venous blood heading back from the feet toward the heart passes very close to the warm arterial blood leaving the heart toward the feet. The cool blood gets warmed up a bit as it passes the warm blood, so by the time it gets back to the heart it doesn’t cool the bird’s core down as much. At the same time, the warm blood heading for the feet gets cooled down a little bit as it passes by the cool blood. This is OK because, since the feet and legs are mostly bones and tendons, they don’t need to stay as warm. Because the feet and legs have very little insulation, there is less heat lost to winter’s chill than there would be if the blood was still warm.

Common Mergansers and Common Goldeneyes are diving ducks. Both species eat fish, aquatic invertebrates (mollusks, snails, insects and their larvae), and aquatic plants. Common Mergansers also eat frogs, small mammals, and birds, which they grip tightly with the serrated edges on their bills. This unusual bill feature has earned Mergansers their nickname: Sawbills.

Bald Eagles can frequently be seen hanging out at the edge of the ice where the ducks are fishing. Although eagles have been observed hunting and eating these birds, this seems to be rare. Mergansers and Goldeneyes are more vulnerable to predation when they are chicks. By the time they arrive in our park, they are fully grown, and their main concern when it comes to eagles is protecting their catch. Eagles are ready to filch a fish at the first opportunity.

And when you’re a duck trying to make it in a cold northern winter, you need all the fish you can catch.

Note: Membership information in the Frontenac State Park Association can be found here. Copies of and subscriptions to their marvelous newsletter can be found here.

 

Yellow River State Forest IA Hike - Luster Heights Unit

South Overlook Luster Heights

In my quest to avoid hiking in MN and WI during the two November weeks of deer gun hunting season, hiking buddies and I headed an hour down the river road to Iowa. There we started exploring the gorgeous Yellow River State Forest near Harper's Ferry along the Great River Road.

The forest lies right along the Mississippi River and features rolling hills and high bluffs. It has a number of units with lots of interesting landforms.  We started our exploration in the Luster Heights unit, a blufftop set of trails that offer easy hiking and great overlooks.

Luster Heights unit trail map

Many of trails are on old logging roads and well mapped. The forest is managed for multiple uses including recreation, logging and forest research. There are many areas of pine plantations. The oak and hickory trees tower over many areas creating a huge canopy that shades the understory.  

From the early 60s until 2017,  a prison camp was established at Luster Heights and inmate labor was used to create/maintain trails, campgrounds, waysides, overlooks and picnic areas. The trails in the Luster Height unit are wide, well marked and traverse some beautiful forestlands. The 3 miles of mostly connecting trails are easy enough for a gentle hike or Amble and great for general hiking, biking and cross country skiing or snowshoeing.

Leaf-covered ravines

We hiked the trails of this oak, hickory and pine plantation forested area over two separate days. The wider trails were easy to follow even with a bushel of oak leaves covering the trails through many parts of the forest. The overlooks give a fabulous view of the Mississippi river, its sloughs and floodplain forests and the Wisconsin bluffs. The views along the trail deep into the woods and ravines are also pretty spectacular. This is a mature forest with towering trees which would make a fantastic shaded hike during hot summer days.

THE HIKE

A rare driftless area in Iowa that hugs the Mississippi River features towering bluffs, deep ravines and lovely rim and forest trails. The hiking at the Luster Heights unit  (770 acres) is easy with very moderate to little elevation. Two overlooks give wide views of the river, floodplain forests, sloughs and bluffs of neighboring WI's driftless area. Many connecting trail give options for shorter or longer hikes on the 3 miles of trails. Trails are well-marked (maps can be downloaded from the Yellow River State Forest website).

Location

The Luster Heights Unit of the Yellow River State Forest is located off the Great River Road (Hwy 364/X52) about 5 miles south of Harper's Ferry, IA. Turn easy on Luster Heights Rd and head up the gravel road about a mile to a small parking lot and trailhead on the left. In winter, the trails are groomed for cross-country skiing.

Get in Gear - It's Winter!

Finally our temps are heading in the right direction for winter play times. I want to share some thoughts on  gear and resources to keep you warm and upright while we snow play during the cold and icy months.

My Five Favorite Pieces of Winter Gear:

MICROSPIKES

My spikes!

Once I started using these babies, I was hooked. It completely changed my winter hiking (more, more, more!) and had me outdoors even more when the snow wasn't deep enough for snowshoeing  - a frequent occurrence as our climate warms.

Spikes in action while bushwhacking

I went with Kahtoola microspikes. They are tough, long lasting, grip your boots and have worked on ice, sugar snow, slopes, hills and slippery leaf hiking bluff adventures. They come in a little sack you can easily drop that in your backpack so you can have them on the trails in any situation. They fit tightly so I recommend going to the next size up when purchasing - you won't regret it when getting the strong rubber up and around your insulated boots. They are worth every penny of their price and will keep you hiking in the worst snow-covered and icy trail conditions.

SNOWSHOES

Insanely easy bindings

While I loved my old wooden and rawhide Iversons, I finally made the switch a few years ago to a smaller, lighter aluminum model featuring heel lifts, crampons and insanely simple yet tough bindings (Atlas Elektras). There are plenty of good brands out there. 

My advice here: really look at the bindings and make sure they are quick enough to get into, tighten and release - it will save you seriously frozen fingers. If you are hiking up any bluffs or climbing while you snowshoe, I highly recommend making sure your snowshoes have heel lifts that can be popped up to support your heel and keep your foot flatter when climbing. Your Achilles tendons and calves will thank you!

BOOTS

You know when you are in inadequate winter boot - your feet are freezing! Keeping tootsies warm is easy when you have waterproof, insulated boots. I found a pair of Merrill hiking boots that are less bulky than my old Sorrels and are mid height. It gives my foot lots more flexibility, while winter hiking, provides ankle support and keeps my feet toasty warm in even below zero temps. Best of all they work great for hiking and snowshoeing!

LAYERS

Typical gear for all winter fun
Image - Lloyd Lorenz

Tops and bottoms, it's all about layers. I always start with a thin Merino wool base layer on top and add additional thin layers as temps plunge. That gives me flexibility and maneuverability without feeling like I'm an over-stuffed doll. If I heat up, I can quickly shed a top layer and I'm good to go.

For bottoms, I swear by Smartwool's Intranet Thermal Bottom. These are warm and flexible yet light. I can wear wind-resistent cross country ski leggings over them while hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. It really helps not to feel I am dragging pounds of clothing on me and helps me when I am climbing and scrambling.  If it's blisteringly cold and windy I will sometimes add a light polypro bottom over the the Smartwool thermals as a third layer and voila - toasty!

GAITERS

I have had my bright blue Outdoor Research gators for decades. They have kept the snow out of my boot tops and socks when skiing and hiking. It makes all the difference in being able to stay out for as long as I want without feeling damp and cold. 

I could go on but I wanted to touch on the five major areas that have changed my approach to winter hiking. If you want more suggestions, I recommend this post from This Big Wild World blog by MN's Susan Gleissner. She delves even further into recommendations on hats, gaiters, jackets and more and has some great tips and recommendations!

What's your favorite winter gear? Let me know in the comments.

Below zero? I don't care.
Image - Kris Lawson

Images - Marge Loch-Wouters, unless noted