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!

A very destructive 2022 ice storm (December 14/15) initially shut down our skiing & snowshoeing by dropping a shocking amount of trees, limbs and branches on our ski trails (not to mention area power lines and houses). The storm began with rain, then switched to ice, followed by 6 inches of very wet snow. The storm abated for 12 hours, then returned with 10+ inches of VERY dense damp snow. This second snowfall clung to the ice coating the trees, and created a once-in-a-generation swath of tree damage to area trees.

Area residents dealt with power outages lasting up to 5 days or more. It took more than a week before the access road to the ski trail was cleared of trees and plowed and we could reach our trailhead. Then the hard work began.

December 26-28 we rented – and our groomers operated – heavy equipment to remove debris from a select part of the East Side trails – and we began grooming the ski trails. On January 12th the Rusk County Forestry Department cleared trees from Excelsior Road (West Side of the trail system). We then groomed Excelsior Road so it could be enjoyed right away.

Initially, the amount of ice damage gave thought to the idea of closing the ski trails for the winter. But we decided to try to save winter in the Hills. Although the number of open trails is limited, we have very good skiing on 14 km of some of our favorite trails. 46% (11 km) of the East Side trails – plus Excelsior Road (3 km in length on the West Side) – have been cleared of downed trees. Weather permitting, we have plans to open more of the trails. Feel free to bushwhack any of the ungroomed trails.

Snowshoers: the entire Ridges Snowshoe Trail has been cleared of ice damage. We prefer you use that trail as your first option. If snowshoeing on the groomed ski trail, please snowshoe well to the side.

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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.

During the past two weeks, the anticipated new trail on the West Side of the trail system was bulldozed, including the placement of three new culverts. The overall dozing results are graded as A+ (many thanks to DNR Forester Bob Hauser who did the expert dozing). This new trail (Y to Z on the map image below) will be a great addition! The new trail connects the west end of Excelsior Road with the 'Lollipop' loop (D-E-D). Check out the photos with this email message.

We started our summer trail mowing on June 22nd. The map (below) shows the trails mowed as of July 8th. Mowing is accomplished in stages during the months of June/July/August. For an updated mowing report and map, visit our website and click on the 'Trail Conditions' link at the top of the page.

Background Details:

• We have 22+ miles of trail that need mowing.
• Our crew of mowing volunteers usually mows a total of about 50 hours each summer.
• Prior to 2003, the Rusk County Forestry Department mowed the entire trail system. They were using a tractor with a deck mower -- and the tractor often created deep ruts that negatively impacted the goal of a smooth trail surface.
• In 2003, we (BHTA) purchased a trail mower to be towed behind an ATV so we could mow the softer trail segments. Even that was less than ideal, still leaving tire ruts that later needed repair.
• In 2014, we switched to mowing using a John Deere Gator on tracks. That's when we organized a trail crew to handle the mowing. Using tracks on the soft trail segments has greatly improved the trail surface when it's time to start wintertime grooming.
• At this time, the Rusk County Forestry Department mows the driest trail segments with their heavier equipment, this amounts to about 1/4 of the trails.
• The Blue Hills Trail Assn mows the remaining 3/4 of the trails using our 2020 Honda Pioneer (with tracks) pulling our AcrEase Trail Mower that cuts a 57" width.
• The 2003 mower was replaced in 2012 with an updated model; and last year we replaced the 2012 engine with an upgraded Briggs & Stratton engine that is working well.
• Mowing typically begins in late June, and the bulk of the mowing is completed by mid August.