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.

It's been almost two years since we've had enough snow to boast of good conditions for cross country skiing in northwest Wisconsin at the Blue Hills Trail. After warm temps and rain produced a total meltdown in late December 2024, a very dry January 2025 was almost as discouraging as the 2024 January/February record warmth that kept us from enjoying any semblance of wintry weather a year ago. If interested, follow this link to view local snowfall data from the past 25+ years.

Come on out and Ski the Hills! In the past couple weeks, we've received enough snow and cold weather to once again enjoy cross country skiing in the beauty of winter in the Blue Hills of northwest Wisconsin. Take a look at the following photos taken while skiing on a lovely blue sky day at 20 degrees F on February 20 (2025). All these photos were taken on the East Side of the Blue Hills Trail.

If you'd like to donate to help offset our costs, follow this link.

January 17th: it's been another very dry start to this winter of 2024-25. 4" of snow prior to Christmas 2024 before that disappeared during a rainy warmup; and only 3+ inches since. Here's a link to 25 years of local snowfall reports.

The 3+ inches of snow that fell January 12th made our groomers happy. They gave it a try, and rolled (packed) the East Side of the trail system, creating a corduroy surface. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of moisture in that snow, and the resultant base is very thin. Most of the groomed trails have grasses showing, and underlying rocks or dirt spots that might catch your skis. But NOTE: we're lucky to have one short section of trail that is offering 'OK' skiing: the 'Gravel Road' has just enough base to conceal most of the rocks. On the East Side map, this is the section from 1-2-3-4 plus a 1/2 km beyond intersection #4. Be sure to use your rock skis on any of the trails, and use extra caution knowing that it's likely you'll find an occasional rock that can throw your balance.

The West Side trails are ungroomed and have about 3 inches of snow that you can explore. Once again, be aware that there is no underlying base -- so it's likely you'll discover some hidden rocks and dirt spots. Enjoy the little snow we have. And hope for a nice snowfall in the near future.

Our 36th Annual Fundraising Banquet was held Saturday, November 2nd at Lehman's Supper Club in Rice Lake. While bidding on many silent auction items during the social hour, attendees shared the camaraderie of like-minded silent sports enthusiasts. After a fabulous buffet meal, our president (John Waldron) reviewed the 'State of the Trails'.

Then we were greatly entertained by guest speaker Sam Thayer as he educated us regarding responsible foraging in the Blue Hills, tempting us with his tasty descriptions of edible wild plants.

To close the evening we 1)selected the winner of our fall raffle (Bryn Rademaker won the $250 gift card for use at Spring Street Sports in Chippewa Falls), then 2)distributed the silent auction items among the winners.

Fun evening.

Many THANKS TO OUR MEMBERS, many THANKS TO OUR DONORS! And a big thank you to Butch and Trudy Lehman (Lehman's Supper Club).

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We're trying to make the best of a warm, dry winter (2023-24) at the Blue Hills Trail in northern Wisconsin.

November and December were disappointing months for those of us that enjoy winter. To top off the record high temps in December, Christmas was wet (1.5" rainfall) and the ground was bare. Finally in early January some cooler weather moved in, and by mid month we counted several snowfalls amounting to 6 inches. Just enough to groom our 20+ miles of ski trails -- and enough to entice folks to break out their snowshoes and their 'rock' skis.

The warming house has been quiet at a time of year it's usually overflowing with smiling faces. But at least for now we have a little taste of winter.

The following photos show conditions during a week of cold temps in the middle of January. Catch it while you can, the weatherman predicts another blast of hot air.

After the December 2022 ice storm brought down an incredible number of trees throughout our 20+ miles of trails, spring of 2023 our officers weren't confident we'd be able to remove all the damage before the winter of 2023-24. At best, we hoped to clear the damage from our favorite trails. But guess what? As of September 1st 2023, 100% of the trail system has been cleared of downed and leaning trees. Amazing! Amazing!! Amazing!!!

Here's a time capsule of the removal of the storm damage...

• Late December we spent close to $7500 when we rented and operated heavy equipment (backhoe and skidsteer) to clear about 40% of the East Side Trails. Good skiing followed.
• Early January the Rusk Forestry Department contracted removal of downed trees from Excelsior Road on the West Side. And we thoroughly enjoyed skiing that segment.
• January/February BHTA volunteers (Blue Hills Trail Assn) spent several days clearing a few important trails on the East Side. Really tough work removing ice encrusted tree tops buried in 2+ feet of snow.
• We enjoyed some mighty fine skiing on the open trails -- and enjoyed the overall record snowfall and winter that wouldn't quit.
• In May, our volunteers provided 4 separate sessions of tree removal that buoyed our spirits. Then the bugs moved in.
• During June/July/August, we hired an affordable work crew from the Flambeau Correctional Center to clear most of the West Side trails, and several important loops on the East Side. They worked 7 full days for us! And did a great job in prepping for winter (removing not only the downed trees, but also the leaners that would block the trails when snow loaded).
• Once the bugs backed off in August, we organized several mornings for our volunteers to continue chainsaw work on the East Side. The last session was August 30th as we cleared the 'Far East' trails.

I think this is a fair estimate of the degree of damage we dealt with this past 9 months: 100 trees removed per km, 10 trees removed each 100 meters. That's an average, some areas weren't too bad, other areas were an unbelievable tangled mess. We removed many small trees, many medium size trees, occasional very big trees. For our 35+ km of non-motorized trails, that amounts to 3500 trees cleared to make way for our hunters, bikers, snowshoers, and skiers.

In between sessions to clear trees, we've found time to mow most of the East Side of the trail system. Those trails are in great shape, just in time for fall weather. The Rusk County Forestry Department is handling most of the mowing of the West Side - hopefully that mowing will soon start.

When you ski the Blue Hills Trail this winter, pause and reflect on not only the beauty, but the work involved. If you'd like to help us financially, here's the link where you can donate.

‍Happy Labor Day!

During the middle of January (2023), we've twice been set to send out a team of chainsaw experts to work on opening more of the Core Loop on the East Side Trails by removing ice storm debris. However, equipment issues negated those plans.

Here's a bit of background: we prefer to groom as a team with our 2020 Honda Pioneer 1000 UTV accompanied by our 2017 Arctic Cat Bearcat Groomers Special snowmobile. Here are the latest equipment challenges our groomers have faced:

• On the evening of January 13th 2023 (Friday the 13th), our Arctic Bearcat workhorse snowmobile overheated shortly after grooming began. The overheating of the snowmobile was an intermittent issue most of last winter as well - and led to several different interventions - each seeming to help temporarily. After overheating on January 13th, the snowmobile was parked at the trailhead, and our head groomer worked alone past midnight using our Honda Pioneer. Great skiing the next day thanks to his dedication.
• On January 15th, we trailered the snowmobile to Bloomer WI Arctic Cat for an in-depth evaluation of potential causes of overheating. Everything checked out OK – no obvious explanation – pretty frustrating that we couldn't identify the cause.
• We decided to discuss the overheating symptoms of the snowmobile with an Arctic Cat expert in New Hampshire who has given us sound advice on several occasions in the past. Right away, he said the symptoms pointed to the likelihood of an airlock in the cooling system. Luckily, while the snowmobile was in the Arctic Cat shop in Bloomer the day before, we had requested replacement of the coolant (anti-freeze), and as part of that replacement, it's routine protocol to perform special maneuvers to purge the cooling system of trapped air. Picture raising the front end of a heavy workhorse snowmobile 3-4 feet and operating til warm then venting the radiator -- and repeating that with the rear end elevated 3-4 feet -- and possibly doing the same with the sled tipped to one side, then the other. Since purging and burping the snowmobile, it's been running fine. Cross your fingers.
• On the evening of Saturday January 21st, our grooming team set out with the goal of using our 'trail renovator implement' to improve the edge of the skate deck. However, about 2 km into the grooming, a big stick worked under the rear comb of the renovator and popped out several rivets – which deformed the comb and created a grooming mess. The groomers returned to the trailhead, parked the 'trail renovator', and groomed using both of our Tidd Tech Generation 2 implements. That created nice skiing conditions for the following day.
• Toward the end of the grooming on that same evening of January 21st, all of a sudden our Honda Pioneer UTV started vibrating when the cooling fan operated. The groomers parked the Honda in its shed, and the next morning we started sharing ideas regarding a potential repair (on site vs at a dealership). Incredibly, while skiing on Sunday the 22nd, my wife (Jan) noticed an oddly shaped WHITE object on the surface of the snow as we skied up the Elevator Trail. Looking closer, we realized it was a plastic object – clearly part of a fan blade! Apparently one of the blades had broken off the cooling fan!!! And there's no reason to explain that – the cooling fan is located behind the radiator inside a protective shroud. But at least we now had an idea regarding what kind of repair was needed.
• Monday morning the 23rd we started contacting nearby Honda dealerships to request help replacing the cooling fan (online videos show a fairly complicated challenge to access the fan). We arranged for overnight shipping of a new fan, and on Tuesday trailered the Honda to AirTec Power Sports in Rice Lake for repairs. The fan replacement – and several additional preventive maintenance items – were completed within 24 hours!
• Regarding our '54-inch Trail Renovator Implement' -- it's been used aggressively this winter in deep snow and icy conditions to remove the ruts from the heavy equipment used to clear ice storm debris. As a result, the comb and side flaps have taken a beating. We have a replacement comb and side flaps on order. (FYI - the rear comb on any grooming implement is what creates the corduroy on the surface of the skate deck).
• Once the equipment issues are under control, we'll again try to coordinate work crews (chainsaw experts) to clear additional ice storm debris and open more of the East Side Core Loop. For now, that's our 'What Next' project.

As the saying goes, you don't own equipment, it owns you. This winter in particular, we need to appreciate good skiing when it's available.

If interested in helping the Blue Hills Trail financially, click here for information regarding donations and membership.

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Thanks to everybody that helped during our annual Work Day on October 1st!

‍Here's a list of our eager volunteers : Sam B, Carolyn C, Ron J, Jan P, Tom P, Kate P, Joel R, Geary S, Bob S, John W, Kevin W, Bob W, and John Z.

Intermittent light (somewhat unexpected) rain showers kept us cool as we picked rocks, threw branches, removed logs -- generally getting the trails ready for our favorite time of the year: winter x-country skiing! We probably totaled about 50 human-hours of labor while enjoying nice fall colors.

‍If you weren't able to help on the designated work day, we have some leftovers for you. Contact our secretary (Tom) via email (bluehillstrail@gmail.com) to see which trails will benefit from additional trail clearing. You are especially encouraged to visit the new trail on the West Side (between Y and Z) for an enjoyable hike -- feel free to throw a few rocks off the trail while you're at it. We're expecting this new trail to offer a great way to access the inner trails on the West Side, while challenging your degree of fitness (plenty of ups, downs, and rollers).

If out hiking the trails this fall, please contact our website if you find tree falls that need chainsaw removal.