Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Running the Bearskin Trail

When I’m up at my family’s cabin in northern Wisconsin, I love to run on the Bearskin Trail, which is a scenic, eighteen-mile recreational path that travels from Highway K (near Highway 51) into Minocqua. Once the path of railroad tracks, the trail is now surfaced in granite and travels through the small towns of Harshaw, Goodnow, Hazlehurst, and Minocqua. The southern half of the trail follows the winding Bearskin Creek, and the northern half runs through lands dense with both forests and lakes. Apparently, the original purpose of the railroad was to export white pine logs from the small lumber towns of northern Wisconsin to cities of the Midwest. Today the trail is used throughout the year by runners, walkers, bikers, and snowmobiles.

Over the weekend, I did a 6-mile run on the trail with my dad, who is by the way amazingly fast and quite challenging to keep up with. The path is relatively flat and features natural scenery and immaculate views from the heart of the north woods. A variety of wildlife, including bears, deer, eagles, and loons, are a familiar sight. My favorite part of the trail is running over the many wooden bridges like the one pictured above. Not exactly sure why, but the bridges sort of remind me of the old railroad rock tunnels that serve as the highlight of the well-known Elroy-Sparta State Bike Trail in western Wisconsin. I guess both serve as remnants of another time, and exciting trail markers to look forward to along the paths. Another reason I like the Bearskin trail is because I don’t usually run into too many other people, which makes me feel like one with nature. The only thing I can hear is the buzzing of insects, the chirping of birds, and the faint and familiar rhythm of my breathing, heartbeat, and foot steps.

Last year I ran a significant portion of the trail with my friend Karen, and we decided then that this summer our goal would be to run the entire 18-mile stretch, which we figured would be much more exciting and momentous. Our plan is to ditch our bikes ahead of time at one trailhead, and then start from the other side, eventually finishing at our bikes. It seems like a nice adventure for a day in the north woods. If you're game, let me know.

1 comment:

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