Totogatic Ski Trail

Janice and I have the week off from work, so with the sun shining bright and the temperature near plus 20F, I went for a ski this morning at the Totogatic Ski Trail a couple miles north of Minong WI.  This is a trail maintained by the Washburn County Forestry Department and if you need to know the trail conditions, it is on their website.

I think they only groom one track so people can use the un-tracked side for snowshoeing, although there were no snowshoe tracks today.  I know people have mentioned they had been snowshoeing here and there are signs that say "No Skating," which makes me think the other side is for the snowshoe. 

The trail  conditions today were excellent.

The last time out the camera battery was dead, so I took them with the cell phone.  I did the same again today, but from now on I am going back to using the cheapo camera I have.  I didn't pay much for it, which is why I like carrying it on my little outdoor exploits, but it takes better pictures than the phone. 

I skied the outer loop here today which in total nears the 12k mark.  The A and B loops have some Red Pine plantings along with some Oaks, Poplar and a few pothole swamps consisting of Spruce, Balsam Tamarack and some Tag Alder.  The C loop is mostly hardwoods with some good sized hills...up and down.  I liked the D loop the best as it crosses a nice sized Tamarack swamp along with a mixture of everything.  I think all the trails have some large White Pine and Red Pine, but I took no pictures of them. 

Smack in the middle of the trail system at the junction of the B and C trails sits this shelter.  It has benches around three sides and is a nice feature to trail system. 

Trail D comes alongside a creek for a short distance.

Back on to trail B here with a gentle climb to get back up on the flatter terrain.  Mostly Red Pine, Jack Pine, Oak and Poplar with a few swamps mixed in up on the top.  

This system has added some trails since I was here last.  I couldn't say for sure though because the last ski I did here was a couple years ago in the darkness of night.  The outer loop nears the 12k mark with a mixture of everything and as a bonus,  it is far enough away from roads, snowmobile trails and such which makes it a very quiet experience. 

If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.