Hiking Journal: Snow!

Time: Mid winter, early afternoon.

Location: NW Waupaca Cty. Central Wisconsin. Public hunting and fishing grounds. Near headwaters of Little Wolf River.

Weather: January thaw weather (early February). 45F. High wind wnw constant. Power surge gusts. Bright cloudless sunshine. Getting hazy.

Conditions: Fairly deep snow. Up to knee deep or more. Loose but melting. Thin ice crust 3 to 6 inches below surface.

Terrain: Wooded steep hilly drumlin and other glacial features. Boulders.

The Plan: Spot scout. Check ice on Little Wolf and tributaries. Check snow depth and ice conditions. Find a place to cross country ski. Or just put on pack boots and walk.

The Hike: Good thick ice on lower Little Wolf River. Go for upper reaches of Little Wolf. Park on side road north of bridge. Leave cross-country skiis. Just pack boots, cross country ski poles, light day hiking backpack.

Stay centered on trail. Fairly easy walking on a deer track covered snowshoe trail following old logging road thru the woods along base of drumlin just north of Little Wolf.

Want to go south to the riverbank. Maybe snowshoe trail will angle south to the river. No luck. 300 yards into the woods and trail still heading east. Need to go south to get to the river. Back track a bit. Find heavy deer trail and track south.

Going not so easy. But do-able. Ski poles a big help to stay centered on deer trail.

Heavy deer trail branches off into smaller trails. Tougher going. True depth of snow evident. Snow deep enough to cover downed trees, branches. Shallow enough to spot outlines. Slow steady pace. Deliberate steps.

The Woods: Mostly hardwoods. No giants. Just tall straight nearly leafless trees. Swaying like sway poles in steady heavy wind. Noisy in the woods. Constant overhead low roaring effect. All directions. Clacking sounds. Occasional tree trunk squeaks and squeals. Powerful wind gusts. Traceable by sound and sight from wsw.

Woods loaded with deer trails, tracks and crap: amazing variety of shapes and size. Big deer sign. Wild turkey evident. Crows. Chickadees. Thought I heard a raven. Not much else. Bounding squirrel tracks in the snow. Digging and pawing marks. Big buck rub.

Steady gentle downslope thru the trees and snow. Edge of flood plane . river pan just ahead. Sharp drop off. 10 foot drop. Large looming snow covered angular shapes. boulders. Huge boulders. Granite. Big chunks of native bedrock. Wolf River Batholithe material. Original Wisconsin. Well over 1 billion years old. Broken off from somewhere to the east and dumped here by glacier some 10 thousand years ago. Awesome.

Drop down into river pan. Skirt around biggest granite boulder. Tricky going. Deep crusty snow. Punch ski pole thru crust. Water and muck bottom material. Some kind of groundwater / springhole action here. Skirt edges. Try to get closer to big boulder. Boulder surrounded by a 'moat' of patchy open water, thin snow covered ice. And muck. Spot downed tree or branch under snow. Use branch to step traverse muck hole. Use ski poles to stabilize. Get past boulder. Thread thru small marsh area. Stepping from tree root bases to marsh grass clumps. Step across to firmer footing. Push on to the Little Wolf River. Extra length of cross country ski poles a big help for traverse. No problems. No soakers while traversing.

Rivers Edge. Ice no good here. Downstream east no good - river pan broadens to thick swampy. Can't follow shoreline: snowy icy boulders, open water and bad ice.

Loop scout shore: back up riverbank; loop around west upstream. Drop back down to rivers edge. Check for suitable crossing. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Up into the woods. Use deer trail to track west upstream. Drop back down to rivers edge. Find good patch of ice. Irregular 40x25 of safe ice with little snow cover. Take a break. Take a drink. Binocular scout ahead. Plan next move.

South Shore. Steeper higher more compact hills. Wilder looking woods and terrain. Bigger trees with white pines. More granite boulders. Tougher going. Looks like fun.

Cloud cover moving in from west. Fast.

Up and out of river pan. More boulders. Big and bigger boulders. Skirt east along top edge of river pan. Snow seems deeper. Tougher going but still do-able.

Investigate unusual granite boulder. In 3 pieces. Parent boulder and two thick slabs. Unusually large crystalline structure. Cube crystals of quartz, feldspar, mica other minerals. Some crystals nearly 1 inch. Not sure where this one came from.

Push on. High steep pointed kame like hill just south. Can't resist. Gradually steeper grade and deep snow at base. Semi-floudering. Shorten steps. Go slow. Find shallower snow.

Half way up. Steep. Deep snow. Deer beds. Neat view of woods and river pan edge. More deer beds. Trails, tracks and poop.

Further up. Very steep. Almost reach out and touch the side of the hill steep. Deep floundering snow. More deer beds. Very fresh. Almost steaming.

Pointed Peak. Swarming with deer beds. Looking down on treetops below. Looking out on drumlin ridge and hilltops to north and east. Peak is part of saddle looping around south to east to higher peak and ridge complex to east. Can't resist.

Shortest route to next peak is steepest down and up. Deep snow. Gravity makes easy going down. Slow deliberate steps. Deep floundering snow at saddle bottom. Spot easier route going up. Slow grinding climb. Getting hungry. Forgot trail food. Cloud cover thickening. Looks like snow. Next peak will be turnaround point.

Highest Point. More deer beds. Fewer than first peak. Take break at top. Drink. Binocular spot scout. Plan next move.

River pan edge visible but not river. Pan looks like wide thick swampy. Start heading north and down for the pan edge. Then work toward the west. Find another suitable river crossing. Head for the barn... TOM

Slow, Deliberate Steps... Coffee Ridge Hiking.

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