| NORTH END NEWS
Grassroots trail sprouts up at
the north end of the Birkie Trail By Ron Bergin There's a new cross country ski trail in Cable at the north end of the Birkie Trail. O.K., it's not exactly new; it's been around now in one form or another for about three years. If you haven't heard about it, you should check it out, as the North End Ski Trail is a great addition to the
already existing ski and other nonmotorized recreation opportunities in the area.
Its development is one of those grassroots stories so typical of the evolution of silent sport activity in the Cable and Hayward area. In 1997, there was a particularly hostile regime in control of Telemark Resort. The ownership and management had done its best to disenfranchise itself from the Birkie Trail and much of the cross country ski community, going so far as to actually physically disconnect the
Telemark trails from the Birkie Trail. A group of local skiers felt that a new trail head, by which to access the Birkie Trail, would be a good idea. To make a long story short, the North End Ski Club was formed, the North End Trail Head created and a succession of trail developments was set in motion.
Following the creation of the North End Trail Head, on the Bayfield County Forest approximately two miles south of Cable on Randysek
Road, the club built a handsome log warming cabin and outhouse at the trail head site. The trail head project included a half mile access trail to the Birkie Trail, utilizing an old logging road that had at times over the years been used as an informal route to reach the Birkie Trail, although it was never maintained as such nor groomed.
This road, as it turned out, was only the tip of the iceberg with regard to the labyrinth of old woods roads that laced the area. According to Paul
Lundberg, Bayfield County Forest Administrator, this district has the highest density of roads and trails of any section of the county forest. With the exception of a couple of major roads into the forest more recently used for logging, most were long abandoned, little if at all used, or partially grown in.
A year or so passed and the climate at Telemark began to change. The ownership filed for Chapter 11 protection; the resort subsequently
closed for a period of time; and ultimately Telemark was purchased out of bankruptcy by the Telemark Interval Owners Association, all leading to a rebirth of this renown and revered resort. The new team in charge at Telemark actually had a few people on board who knew something about cross country skiing and, more importantly, they cared. And it showed, as the Telemark trails began to reclaim some of their former glory. Most significantly, despite being under funded and under
equipped, grooming at the resort surprised everyone with a fantastic product, often in spite of meager snowfall.
Back at the North End, the club continued to fine tune the trail head and warming cabin. A series of snowshoe trails was laid out on some of the old roads mentioned earlier (as well as other new trails traveling cross country), forming three loops and one point to point trail traversing the county forest and connecting to the Telemark Resort trail system. Not
coincidentally, some of these same snowshoe trails were incorporated into the new CAMBA single track mountain bike trails also under development.
The next logical step was to cobble together some of the remaining woods road to create a network of ski trail loops. The original layout of the trail system had been approved by the county forest in 1998. Over the succeeding three years, a new loop was phased in each year. In the
middle of the process, the new Kortelopet race course was proposed and quickly constructed. About two kilometers of new construction of the race course was superimposed on the approved but not yet constructed North End Trail, and an additional 1.5 kilometers on the existing North End Trail further north before it diverts and connects with the Telemark trails.
The first North End trail was a 4.5K loop that started directly across
from the junction of the Birkie Trail and the North End access trail. It was readied just in time for the ski season in 1999. Next was an extension of that loop that increased the distance to about 7K with a cutoff to the original loop. Finally, last year, the third loop, extending the trail to and south of Timber Trail Road, was opened, bringing the total distance to 11K. The latest addition to the trail was extremely well
received, as it is a treat to ski with a truly pleasant and enjoyable flow.
As another statement of its commitment to cooperation and involvement in the ski community, the new Telemark Resort groomed the North End Trail under an agreement with the North End Ski Club. The trail has been groomed twice a week throughout the winter or as needed, and for the most part, grooming has been up the same standards set for the resort itself. Moreover, instead of trying to discourage skiers from
coming into Telemark on the Birkie or North End Trails, Telemark has welcomed skiers using these trails, with the caveat, of course, that they purchase a trail pass should they intend to ski on the Telemark Trail system.
In as much as the northern end of the Birkie Trail has some pretty rugged terrain, the North End Ski Trail now offers a much more moderate alternative. Sure, there's climbing but not as severe as the
general flow of the Birkie in that neck of the woods; it's more what one would call rolling with a few short, steeper climbs. It also presents a host of additional options for places to tool around, instead of just doing the same old out and back on the Birkie.
A great way to start the day is to cruise the north and east legs of the North End Trail south to Timber Trail Road. The terrain is quite mellow and avoids a few big climbs affording the opportunity to warm up before
jumping on the Birkie Trail. This is also a good way to return to Telemark or the North End after skiing up from the south. In as much as most of the North End Trail was comprised of existing woods roads, when laying it out the only thing the club had to do was simply follow the old roads and go basically where they went.
Quite fortunately, the layout formed the series of loops described above with only one minor disconnection. The southern most section of the trail
initially followed Timber Trail Road for two short segments. Timber Trail is technically a town road, but it is not usually plowed during the winter except when there is an active logging project in the area, so this was not initially thought to be a problem. It was felt, however, that over time it would be best to get off the road altogether. This past spring two reroutes were created to accomplish this, the second of which connects
to the Birkie Trail directly across from the Kortelopet race course split. Obviously no one has actually skied this latest section yet, but it none the less looks like it will be a hoot to ski, with a series of long, sweeping descents and rollers.
The region surrounding the North End Trail Head has evolved into one incredible, nonmotorized sport playground. The North End Ski Trail is the perfect addition and complement, especially when considering what
was already there: the Birkie Trail, Telemark Resort trails (several sections of which are actually on the county forest), and the CAMBA mountain bike trails (including the new single track trails). With the addition over the past five years of the North End Trail Head, access trail, snowshoe trails, and North End Ski Trails, this recreational asset represents a tremendous legacy to the Cable area and the Bayfield County Forest contributing further to the area's wealth of silent sport
opportunities.
NEW TRAIL AT TELEMARK
Telemark Resort near Cable, Wis., has completed its new XC Fever Trail in time for the cross country skiing season. The trail, a 2 kilometer loop, is linked to Telemark's snow making system and is specially designed for man made snow.
"Our goal is to offer real cross country trail skiing on Thanksgiving weekend," said Telemark director of sales and marketing, Phil Van
Valkenberg. "The XC Fever Trail is in a very sheltered, heavily wooded little valley just west of our Christiana Villa condos. Since many of our trails are on private land posted no hunting, Telemark is an ideal place to ski during deer hunting season. We were able to open other trails on natural snow in 2000 and people loved it. Now, with man made snow, the new trail will give skiers the best possible chance for early season skiing."
Telemark's staff have revived the snow making system at the base of the old Christiana ski slope and identified a dozen prime snow making points within reach of the equipment. The trail is modular in design so snow can be made in these locations and pushed in numerous directions. This design also will allow Telemark to open parts of the interconnecting loop as soon as possible.
"The XC Fever Trail will also be a back up for events," Van Valkenberg
said. "We had to cancel the NorAm races last December after getting open on nearly 2 feet of snow on Nov. 29, then being washed out by three days of rain and 50 degree temperatures about a week later. There was still snow back in the valley where the XC Fever Trail is now located but at the time, we were trying to make a large man made snow loop out in the open. That was just too time consuming and wasted a lot of snow."
One lap of the XC Fever Trail will be exactly 2 kilometers. Connections to the stadium area near the lodge, where snow can also be made, could make the distance 3 kilometers. There are 250 feet of ascent per 2K lap.
"Because it's modular, skiers can choose from a variety of loop combinations," Van Valkenberg said. "They'll be able to ski easier or harder terrain as much as they want. If you skip about 600 meters that
includes the World Cup Trail section, you cut the total ascent in half."
XC Fever Trail use will be part of the normal Telemark season or daily trail pass fee. For information contact Telemark Resort, 42225 Telemark Road, Box 609, Cable, WI 54821, 877/798 4575, 715/798 3999.
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