Snow!

Over the past few days I have got in quite a bit of cross country skiing, now that we have a bit of snow here in southeast Michigan.  From Tuesday morning to Wednesday morning we got somewhere between 8-10" of snow; it was hard to measure very accurately as it was pretty windy.

Wednesday evening I went over to Radrick Farms, a golf course owned by the University of Michigan.  Radrick has a lot of woods and some trails that are decent for skiing.  Plus, it is only about four miles from home.  The snow was great but I felt a little flat.  I was out for about an hour and a half and my tail was seriously dragging by the end.  Not sure why, I think it was just an off day.  On the way out I stopped to read a new sign along the entrance drive:

NO PUBLIC USE OF THIS PROPERTY

POLICE PATROLLED

VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED

Not so friendly sounding...what's the deal?  Radrick has been open to skiers as long as I have known, and they often have signs saying please do no ski in less than four inches of snow.  Which sounds like an open invitation to ski if there is at least four inches of snow.  And as my friend Jen pointed out, the web site says skiing is OK.  Not sure what to think.  Cross country skiers are not exactly a menace to society, and I have yet to have a conflict with a golfer while skiing out there.

Friday evening Grace and I met up with John and Karen and skied Huron Hills golf course.  Huron Hills, as the name implies, has some nice hills for skiing.  There are a few small wooded sections as well.  We took a lap around both parts of the golf course and spend about 30 minutes sessioning on a hill.  Some of the hills get pretty worn from sledders, but we found one hill that was completely untracked.  Afterward we stopped in at Casey's Tavern for a little food and beer.  In all, a good way to start the weekend.

And today John, Karen, Don, and I went out to Stinchfield Woods (a.k.a. Peach Mountain), which in my opinion, is one of the best places to ski near Ann Arbor.  I took my camera, but the partly charged battery was not happy about the cold and the camera refused to turn on.  We were out there for almost 2 1/2 hours and toured quite a few of the trails.  We avoided some of the bigger hills since the group had varied skiing experience, but even the most mellow trails have some nice hills and enough elevation change to keep me happy.  And the good company did not hurt, either.  The temperature was sneaking above freezing and the snow was getting soft and wet, but there was still enough for good coverage.

Hopefully the snow will stick around for a little longer; I have not got my fill of skiing yet!