ROCK LAKE & ROCK RIVER skiing, canoeing.
Feb 29, 2020 - ROCK RIVER & ROCK LAKE. Blue Mtn WF. Only 1-3" powder on 2' base - the trail had a frozen snowshoe trough which was not great for skiing steeper sections but off-trail in the hardwoods was pretty nice skiing, overall good to very good skiing. Temp in the mid-teens. Rock River Trail drops 300' in the first half mile, then L on snowmobile trail for 100 yards then R on the red trail. Short detour to the lake (could see Sawyer Mtn to the S but could not see Blue Mtn) then rolling terrain with a final steep drop to the river at 3 miles. Followed the riverbank upstream the whole way to the lake, much of the time on firm ice shelves (fun) but sometimes into spruce/fir woods (not much fun) - the scenery was superb, the biggest falls/rapid was mostly iced-over. Crossed the lake & picked up the trail again. Made the climb back to the car easier by chalking some green kick wax on the glide zone of skis. 6.5 miles, 5.6 hours. 2 drew blood on their heads, 1 wen...