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Trail Conditions
Blue Hills Trail CONDITIONS
Fairly good hiking despite recent wet weather and occasional patches of snow. When temps are above freezing, the trails are a bit soft, a bit damp.
Kevattalvi (Finnish term) = spring winter: "When birds start to sing, the snow melts, you get patches of concrete and some warmer days, lots of sunshine but it might still snow and be freezing."
IMPORTANT UPDATES
snowfall
April 6: late evening flurries
grooming & MOWING
Grooming Report / Plans:
March 6: groomed the East Side Core Loop.
weather forecast
Winter. Welcome Back, Don't Be A Stranger.
At last -- a few days of fantastic skiing! This winter (2024-25) started late, was far too dry, and now is ending early. Hurry back my friend, but try to be on time.
Cross country ski conditions this morning (Sunday, February 23rd) were fantastic on the Blue Hills Trail in northwest Wisconsin. Temps started at 23 degrees F, rose above freezing for the first time in 3 weeks, and later in the day hit the low 40s. During the past week, timely grooming of the packed powder and sugar snow surfaces made for wonderful skate or classic skiing this morning before the predicted warmup moved in later in the day. Quite a contrast to the minus 30F windchills a few days earlier.
Enjoy the following photos showing the beauty of the Blue Hills Trail cross country ski trails in northwest Wisconsin -- taken February 21 - 23 (2025). As lovely as the pictures are, the skiing was even better. Right click the photos to open in a new window and enjoy the full size image.
If you'd like to help offset our expenses, follow this link for donations and annual memberships.
How to view images: To see larger versions of the thumbnail photos above, click on the thumbnail. If you want to save the image for yourself, simply right click the full size image to obtain the original. Higher quality images are available by contacting our website. To avoid copyright infringement, reprints must credit the Blue Hills Trail Association, Inc.
Image information: If you want to save any images from this blog post for yourself, simply right click the full size image to obtain the original. Higher quality images are available by contacting our website. To avoid copyright infringement, reprints must credit the Blue Hills Trail Association, Inc.
Additional Recent Posts
Our 2014 John Deere Gator 825i went to the beauty shop today. It's time for its annual preventive maintenance -- and if you missed an earlier message -- the original Camoplast tracks that we mounted on the Gator in 2014 have worked hard for 1200 hours (7500 km) and are being replaced with new upgraded tracks. The old tracks will be put up for sale and provide many additional hours of service.
We've seen online videos of the new tracks, endorsing the improvements that were introduced in 2017. But today was the first time we've seen the redesigned tracks in person. And wow! are they impressive!
Not by choice, several of us involved with maintaining the Gator have become well acquainted with the original tracks. Since we purchased the Gator in 2014, most of its mechanical problems have been related to issues with the tracks. The new tracks have a tougher frame, improved mechanisms for adjusting track tension and alignment, improved ability to float over the trail surface, an even better rubber track, and a better system for lubricating the main hub bearings.
Seeing is believing. The following pictures show the Gator (with the original tracks) getting a shower; and the new tracks fresh from Canada.
Somewhat cooler weather has suppressed the bugs. This is a good time to enjoy our 20+ miles of non-motorized trails. The last photo shows folks 'Out There' near intersection A5 on the East Side. As a reminder, on the East Side, this fall you probably should avoid Rut Road (logging activity); on the West Side, the trail is currently flooded and impassable near Letter F, and between K-L -- busy little beavers.
If needed, click here for a link to our Trail Maps.
Picture(s) with this message were taken late August.
A gorgeous day in the Hills! What a nice way to cap off our winter. This morning's grooming began at 5:30 with the temps around 15 degrees F. By the time skiers started arriving at 8 a.m. the East Side Core Loop had a nicely scratched up sugar snow surface that gave great edge control on the rocket fast trails. Thrilling!
At 10 a.m. an enthusiastic group of volunteers pitched in to make quick work of tucking the grooming implements into their summer lodging (our 40-foot shipping container). It went like this:
- We mounted special wheels to our 8-foot Tidd Tech grooming implement, and it was backed into the shipping container with an assist from the Gator.
- We switched the wheels to our 9-foot Tidd Tech grooming implement and backed it in with the Gator getting credit for another assist.
- Our blue trail compactor was moved into the shipping container using human power alone!
- We placed our two rollers in the shipping container, and called it a wrap.
Let's not forget how really strange this roller coaster winter was. Here's a quick summary:
- The first part of the winter - up until February 5th - delivered very little snow, 4 separate meltdown events, 5 separate rain events, with a Polar Vortex thrown in for variety. Despite all that, we found enough snow to groom 13 times and periodically enjoyed some pretty good skiing. Audie Flowage served as a beautiful alternative to trail skiing.
- Then on February 5th the Snowmaggedon hit! I recorded about 53" of snow between February 5th and March 9th. (Click here to check out our snowfall summary since 1999.) To say the least, our groomers were challenged. They groomed 18 times in February, and 10 more times in March. Often it meant long hours spent grooming, frequently in bitter cold temps. In all the deep snow, I lost track of the number of times the groomers needed to use their front-end winches (and multiple lengths of tow straps) to pull themselves out of trouble.
- During the peak of the snowfalls, we were forced to deal with a couple of major equipment problems with our Gator. Taking the bull by the horns, we completed the repairs in the field ourselves - minimizing down time and keeping labor costs to a minimum.
- Last point, something definitely worth noting: as of this morning, the snow to the side of the trails has solidified like a rock. On mornings following an overnight freeze, crust skiing can carry you anywhere you want to go. Let your imagination be your guide.
Maple syrup time, Ski the Hills!
Despite the current dry spell and the lack of groomed ski trails, there's decent lake skiing available. Audie Flowage (2 miles northwest of the warming house) has a 2"-3" snow cover in most places. Skiing there today was very enjoyable despite requiring a bit of work -- the snow surface was a bit crusted, with a tendency to punch through the crust. However, the wilderness experience at Audie is definitely worth the effort (notice the otter slides in the photo?). You can access the Lake by parking either at the campground or the boat landing.
On December 3rd we groomed the 2 km length of the Eastside 'GravelRoad'. It's barely skiable, rock skis only, and watch your balance if you catch an edge. We need a few more inches of snow before we can consider grooming the Trails. Until then, feel free to bushwhack the trails, hike the trails, and hike the snowshoe trails.
The furnace in the warming house is on, stop by and thaw out.
Some equipment information we think will interest you... On a warm day while grooming this past March, the Hyfax slides on our new snowmobile overheated and needed replacement. (The slides are a hard plastic material attached to the metal rail - positioned between the moving rubber track and the metal rail, they shield the metal rail from abrasion - however the slides can overheat if operating in 'dry' conditions).
We've never needed snow scratchers before, but realized this is a must adaptation to help kick up snow/ice and cool the slides when grooming on hardpack snow - i.e. 'dry' conditions. We purchased cable (reversible) snow scratchers locally and earlier this week - after a bit of trial and error - installed them on our Bearcat snowmobile (the scratcher tips are carbide & replaceable). Everything lined up nicely. It's easy to hook the scratchers on the rail when you need them out of the way. Preventing equipment problems keeps our ski trail groomers happy and on the go.
With that task completed, we decided to check the state of the snowmobile battery, drive belt, and driven belt sheaves. First we used our lever lift stand to elevate the Bearcat's rear end. After napping for 6 months, the 'Cat fired up on the 2nd turn of the key, purred like a kitten, then roared as the track turned a few revolutions quite nicely. We again disconnected the battery and put her back to sleep -- waiting for snow!
Lastly, a modification that was installed a couple weeks ago... During the grooming season, the Bearcat sleeps in a shipping container where ice tends to build up under its track. To make entry and exit less harrowing for the operator, we placed an eyebolt in the threshold; then created an easily removable setup where we can secure a piece of salvaged snowmobile track to the threshold so the 'Cat can get a good toe hold. The trails are in great shape, go take a hike!
After a lot of thought, time and effort, our idea of revising the Eastside map and trail signs is close to becoming reality. Our current (old) map defies logic and is too confusing. Our volunteer traffic engineer (he lives in Portland, OR) is close to finalizing the details on the new Eastside map.
Once the map is ready to go, we'll send it to the printers where the maps will be laminated. The ALL NEW TRAIL SIGNS (165 directional signs!) were printed in August using a heavy gauge aluminum material with a reflective yellow coating - they're waiting to be put in place. Soon we'll need a few volunteers to remove the old maps and signs, and put up the new. Watch for an email message seeking volunteers for that task.
This past weekend, we couldn't help jump starting the process of erecting the new signs. With rain in the forecast, we decided to go ahead and put up the new maps and signs on the trails furthest from the warming house that tend to become soft and muddy during damp weather. New signage was placed yesterday on most of the intersections on the trails named "Far East" and "Otter Slide".
Each intersection requires one map, one sign with the 'number' of that intersection, and each diverging trail receives one sign that identifies where that trail is headed. There are 45 intersections on the Eastside. That equals lots of maps and directional signs. Follow this link to view the new maps. Take a few minutes to appreciate the many features of the map. Here are just a few...
- You'll notice the core loop is a bold black line that's numbered sequentially using blue highlighted circles.
- If you look carefully, you'll find kilometer markers at each km along the 11 km length of the core loop. (While we were zooming around the trails this weekend, we also put up the necessary posts with their km markers along the core loop.)
- When you venture off the core loop, you'll see that all the side trails have names; and their intersections are grouped into A1-A5, B1-B5, and C1-C7 based on proximity.
- We've already marked and signed the intersections that will be developed when the 'FAR EAST' trail is completed.
- Instead of a red dot to show 'You Are Here' we've switched to red arrows.
- We've even designed the map to be functional for individuals that are red/green color blind.
Overall the trails are in great shape. Bug activity is low, fall colors are exploding, this is a great time to enjoy the trails!
Whew! Our annual trail work day accomplished a lot. Over the first weekend in October (Friday/Saturday/Sunday) twelve volunteers each donated several hours of their time. With the goal of having safe clear passages for skiing, they...
- Chainsawed about 25 trees for removal (a localized storm on September 22 produced fairly widespread damage to our trail system)
- Removed fallen trees, limbs, and branches; and bothersome rocks
- Brushed the trail margins to maintain wide passages for skiing
- Shoveled to create a smooth ramp approach for the bridge at #31
- Filled a section of eroded areas with ten straw bales that were separated, compacted and retwined
- Shoveled to fill eroded segments adjacent to straw bales
- Felled trees to serve as "corduroy" at a deep eroded trench
- Moved lumber in anticipation of bridge repair
- Placed reinforcement cable at our bridge that is undergoing repair
- Broomed off the roof of the warming house
We're very pleased to have that above list out of the way. Many thanks to the helpers this past weekend: Dan Bale, Mike Cragg, Ron Jasperson, Shane Klein, Peter Neal, Jan Paulsen, Tom Paulsen, Steve P, Jerry Schneider, Jason Sirek, John Waldron, and Jerry Wilkes. And a huge thank you to all of you that have helped with the many tasks this past summer (mowing, tree removal, equipment repair, equipment storage, eradicating carpenter ants, fixing the doors of the warming house, etc). If we tried to list all your names, we'd miss some. Please know that your volunteer efforts are greatly appreciated!
This is it! This is what we work for during summer trail maintenance, and wait for as we watch the weather forecasts in November and December. The weather changed in late November, colder temps finally arrived and the very wet trails began freezing as we began grooming in early December. We started skiing December 10th after grooming some of the trails closest to the warming house. By mid December, cold weather allowed more grooming and we've enjoyed surprisingly good skiing for this early in the season.The weekend of December 23-26 (and the following week) became a groomer's challenge. We were all set to groom late the evening of December 23rd. That evening the Hills received 2" of very sticky snow, and the forecast called for lots of rain on December 25th. By group consensus, we decided to avoid grooming the December 23rd snowfall, let it sit and hope it would absorb the forecast rain. Mild temps all that weekend culminated in 0.7" rain the evening of Christmas Day, followed by falling temps and A MAJOR WINDSTORM on December 26th. We're glad we allowed the December 23rd snowfall to rest without grooming. It magically absorbed the December 25th rainfall. After the December 26th windstorm, temps fell the week of December 26th, and our groomers spent loads of hours clearing tree-falls and branches. And skiers helped by flicking and flicking and flicking the sticks. As the New Years weekend approached the trails were in good shape, and skiers from near and far marveled at the quality of the skiing in the Hills.
The Blue Hills Trail -- entirely non-motorized -- has more than 20 miles of trails that require year round maintenance. Our most important bridge was heavily damaged in a late May deluge, then dismantled in August while staging the repair. Every picture tells a story: the attached photos first show the damaged bridge; then show the workers on the 14th of September when the bridge was rebuilt (bridge building photos courtesy of Dan Bjugstad); and some modifications from the workday on October 1st. Thanks to these guys for rebuilding the bridge: Dan Bjugstad, Mike Cragg, Ron Jasperson, Frank Lowry, & John Waldron. Thanks to Lamperts of Ladysmith for donating the lumber for the stringers. This bridge (as well as another bridge and several culverts) received quite a bit of attention during the annual work day on October 1st. The trails are shaping up now as we enjoy fall and look forward to winter skiing.Many many thanks to our numerous volunteers!
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