I Spy on the Trails - December 2025

Late afternoon skies at Hixon Forest

An early December snow made a great base for lots of snowshoe fun this year. After the past two brown, warm winters, it was great to have ski-able, snowshoe-able snow to start the month. I managed to get seven excellent snowshoe hikes in during the first half of the month!  

A super subzero cold snap over the weekend of Dec 13-14, coinciding with the peak of the Geminid meteor shower, was followed closely by above freezing temps that degraded those first December days of premier snow-fun snow. Many of us just switched to micro spikes for continuing hiking adventures.

By the way, if you haven't used micro-spikes or ice cleats for winter hiking, they're a game-changer. The grip on icy trails that this "over-the-boot" gear gives you is astounding. You can tackle steep trails and iced over-footprints with ease. Coils are fine on paved surfaces, but over-the-boot microspikes, cleats and crampons give you a stronger grip on trails. I swear by my Kahtoola microspikes that are now heading into their fifth winter with me. While costly, think of what a fall on ice could potentially cost.

Faint lines in the snow reveal 
subnivean zone activity as snow melts!

Oh and those warmer temps melting that first snow uncovered lots of subnivean zone snow tunnels that mice and small critters made under our first excellent snow cover. Hope you caught a glimpse of some as you hiked in these warmer temps!

Full moon over
Rotary Lights display

The warmer temps during the holidays also made walking through holiday light displays like La Crosse’s Rotary Lights and Sparta’s display in Evans Bosshard Park much more pleasant. So there was an upside for all the holiday-happiness people among us!

Winter solstice long shadows

Snow scenes, ice scenes and clear views through trees made the month a truly beautiful one for trail users. We were lucky enough on winter solstice to have sunny skies and an early solstice at 9:03 am. My honey and I caught a snap of our loooonnnggg shadows that resulted. This is our longest shadow we will have all year  timed just right to coincide with the exact moment of solstice.

A final blizzardy snow storm capped off the month just before the New Year arrived. While the snow depths varies wildly, good snowshoeing and cross-country skiing north of us was a welcome return to winter.

I hope the new year is one that finds you on the trails a lot in all seasons enjoying what nature has to offer.

See you on the trails!

A month of hikes/snowshoeing
Hikes below in colored, bold type or underlined have links to previous posts OR descriptions/location of the trails found online.

Ravine Woods, La Crescent MN (6); Apple Blossom Overlook Park, Winona Co MN (2); Riverside Park/Marsh Trails (2), La Crosse WI; Upper Hixon Trails, La Crosse WI; Root River WMA, La Crescent MN; Wagon Wheel Trail, La Crescent MN; McGilvray’s 7 Bridges, Holmen WI; Great River Bluffs State Park, Nodine MN 

Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

The "I Spy on the Trails" column is a phenology (the study of seasonal changes in plants and animals) journal to chronicle year-round the weather, plant life and wildlife I observe while hiking. It is very useful in helping me compare observations from year-to-year. The column is published monthly from September through April and then twice-a-month from May through August when warm weather brings the natural world back to vibrant life.

A surprise flyer on December 26 - 38F temps!

You can read my quarterly column on seasonal hiking suggestions in Inspire(d) Driftless Magazine available online or pick up a free copy at businesses and organizations around the Driftless areas of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.