First Snowshoe hike of Winter

FINALLY!!! 

     Three days ago we received our first substantial snowfall of the Winter.  This Winter has been brown and dry; November lasting 10 weeks.  Temperatures had at times been in the 50's and 60's.  While some folks liked this I was restless for snow. 
     I used to cross country ski when I was younger.  I may try it again, but I have a feeling my left leg and hip aren't going to be all that good for that.  Downhill ski is something I've only done twice and have no desire to do.  At this point, with my balance and conditioning, I'm sure to break something important.
    Last year I splurged and bought a good pair of snow shoes.  I had them out 6 times last Winter, three of them in the woods around our house.

     That's what I did today.  A little 1 mile-ish loop on a couple of trails right from our backyard.  About 8:15 I hit the snow and walked out into the woods.  About 4 to 6 inches in most places and except for where the neighbors tuned up their snowmobile and another neighbor took the back way home, there were no human made tracks.  The sun was not yet visible as it sits low in the sky and is obscured by the ridges to the South and East, but daylight was full.  About 20F and almost no breeze.

     Besides a hawk and a couple of sporadic twitters, the wildlife was silent.  Tracks were plenty.  Deer, dogs, maybe coyote?, rabbit, mice.  No raccoon tracks today.

     I had to take a 5 minute break and pull briars out of my pants about halfway through. Hooked my right shoe on something, tried to yank it free, but whatever hooked me won that battle and down I went into a patch of undergrowth.
     When I first picked up the shoes I talked to the gal behind the counter about her shoeing experiences.  One thing she mentioned stuck out.  "Expect to fall.  Everybody falls.  You'll fall the first time you're out and many times after that."
     I logged about 8 hours between the first three times I went out.  I hadn't fallen once and I'd not strictly stuck to the trails.  You can't stick to the trails as the trails are typically ski trails.  You shoe on ski trails at your own risk.    You'll leave the woods with a ski pole in at least one orifice.
    Not once did I fall.. until the 4th time out.   The day before the SuperBowl last year Ruth took her skis and I took my shoes.  She skiied the trails and I tromped through the woods.  We figured we'd link up on the prairie after about 45 minutes and parallel each other back to the parking lot.  Just before we were to link up I was climbing a small incline through a stand of pine.  One of the shoes got hooked and I fell forward into the snow and undergrowth.  No big deal, but I really banged my right knee hard.  Wow, that hurt.  Figured I'd have a good bruise from that.
     I met up with Ruth about 5 minutes later to make the last mile back to the lot.  I was definitely hurt.  I was having visions about how purple that large bruise would become.  How swollen.  The pain was about a 6 on the pain scale.  I trudged my way through the rows of corn stalks, falling twice more!!
     Well, figured I'd be off my feet for a day or two.  In reality I had no idea of what was to come.
     Back at the parking lot we stowed our gear and I figured I'd better take a look at the knee.  There was a dime size hole through my outer pants.  Then a dime size hole through my long johns.  Yes, there was a dime size hole in my knee.  Something had stuck right through two layers of pants and into the synovial space between the patella and femur.  "Wow.  Hey Ruth.  We should go to the walk-in."
      The rest of the afternoon was spent at the ER.  X-Ray, wound irrigation, and a shot of antibiotic.  Another pair of crutches.  Wrapped it up and figured I should be good in about 6 to 8 days.
      The next morning the knee looked pretty ugly.  The wound was starting to close, but there was a little bit of red around the wound.  Quite swollen.  I watched the SuperBowl running a 102 temp.  We went into the doctor the next morning.  Short story... massive infection that spread up my entire thigh.  Spent two nights in the hospital and missed a week of work.
     Just one of those things.

     The weeks later I was back in the snow shoes and back on the trail.  And today I fell... again.

    

Hills of Onalaska

GPS Track

     January 8th, a rare weekend off for Ruth.  We saddled up the boys and headed to Onalaska to find a couple of geocaches.  Well, we were 1 for 2 on the day.  Couldn't find a micro and we scoured the area.  Cleverlly hidden indeed.

     We've had an odd Winter.  Temperatures in the 50's and 60's.  No snow for Christmas this year, a real bummer.

     This day was in the low 40's and sunny.  Again, a day I'd expect in November, not early January.  Still, it did allow the whole family to get out and slink about a ridge that lies to the East of Onalaska.
     I had always wanted to get out and hike around these hills.  Between highway and commercial area and a residential subdivision lies a 1200ft high ridge that runs about 3/4 North to South and about a half mile West to East.

     The ridge is dotted with several trails and is heavily used by the hundreds of households in the subdivision in the valley.  Trail access is found at the end of Alpine Pl in an empty lot between two houses.  We didn't do so, but in the future I'll consider parking down by the park and walking the extra 1/4 mile.  I can imagine that having a whole pile of cars parking outside your house can be a little bothersome.

     The subdivision is quiet and while on the East side of the ridge the highway sounds are greatly muted.  This makes for a nice little urban escape.

     This ridge was not always so urban.  I came to the La Crosse area in mid 1990.  At that time what is now Apsen Valley was populated with a few houses.  At the end of the valley was a big red barn (which is still there).  Beyond the barn was corn, hills, and trees.
      Today, the view to the West of the ridge is a great view of Menards, subdivisions, and finally the Mississippi.   In 1990 Menards was not there and only half the houses between the ridge and river were there.

     A real history lesson comes from my wife Ruth.  She grew up a mile from these hills.  Many hours were spent in the hills and valleys that are now homes and businesses.  She hadn't been back in these hills since her childhood, decades ago.  There were few houses between the ridge downtown Onalaska.  There were only a handful of homes at the South end of the Valley.  That area was square miles of swamp, hills, and forest.  Ruth spent her free time hiding in the caves, making campfires, and just wandering the woods.