Camping in Willow River State Park

Willow River State Park, located just outside of Hudson, WI, is a convenient park for people who live in the twin cities and western Wisconsin. I first visited in the fall (and wrote a post about it then), and recently visited again. This time I went camping and enjoyed the park even more.

Naturally, I visited the waterfall and did a little exploring around there with my friends. This was the obvious first stop as they had never been to the park, and you don't see waterfalls like that too often in Wisconsin.

The next task at hand was to set up our campsite. We ended up having 3 tents for 5 people (we had 2 person tents). We easily had enough space, and we were fortunate to have a little distance between our campsite and the other campsites in the park. There were still quite a few people walking around, though, so it wasn't as peaceful as some places. Either way, it was a wooded campsite in a nice park, which was pretty good for what we were looking for.

I went on a run a little later in the day, which included a hill that was just brutal. I never stopped, but during part of it I felt like I could walk faster than I was running! It was a paved path, but most of the running I did was on the trails. I think I went about 3-4 miles total.

As the night came, we got our fire going, cooked up some dinner, and told campfire stories. A great way to spend a cool spring night.

Jerimoth hill, the highest point in Rhode Island

I recently did some traveling for work, and found time to visit another highpoint! I drove to Jerimoth Hill, the highest point in Rhode Island. Located just across the Connecticut border, this was an easy highpoint to summit.

I was on my way from Boston to Hartford, and I wanted to visit a highpoint while I was in this area, but I didn't have too much time as the rental car needed to be returned on time. The highpoints of Massachusetts and Connecticut were a bit out of reach, but Rhode Island's wasn't too far out of the way.

So I drove to Jerimoth hill. I saw a sign for it along the road, parked, and walked a few hundred feet down a wooded trail, following signs that were left by a highpointing club. It was very well marked for being a pretty short trail. One would never know you were at the highest point in the state if there weren't signs there. Definitely very different from being on top of Mauna Kea in Hawaii!

I did drive through some very quaint parts of Connecticut on my way back to Hartford, although I didn't stop due to some rain and the need to get the car back in time. I remember several hills and some towns along the way. Maybe I'll come again and explore when I'm not in a time crunch!

Ice climbing in Sandstone MN

Several weeks ago, I got the opportunity to go ice climbing in Sandstone, MN, at an old quarry that was turned into a park, not far outside of the small downtown area.

Once we arrived at the park, the first thing that needed to happen was to put anchors in place. The guide and one volunteer did this while I waited on the ground, 50 feet below. This took a little while, and I was starting to get a little cold, but I was very excited, so it didn't bother me too much.

After the anchors were set up, we were ready to do some top rope ice climbing. There was one other group climbing that day, but there were several routes available to climb along the wall of the quarry.

One side note, in order to ice climb, we had special boots, crampons, ice axes and helmets. On top of wearing snowpants and a winter jacket, this was much less comfortable than the shorts and t shirt with rock shoes outfit that I usually have underneath my harness.

I tried 3 different routes. The first one gave me some trouble, and I had a short fall. The second one was really easy for me, and the third came pretty easy as well.

It was great to finally give ice climbing a try as it was a goal of mine. It was quite different from rock climbing, but definitely provided a similar thrill.

Exploring (some of) the Big Island of Hawaii

I was recently fortunate enough to go to Hawaii. I went to two of the Islands: Oahu, which is the most populous island, and Hawaii,aka the "Big Island". Both were amazing places, but my time on the Big island will be the subject of this post.

I stayed in Kona, which is on the dry side of the island. The weather was predictably great, and the people were friendly and laid back. A common sight was seeing people riding in the beds of trucks. Some of them even had their own chairs! Not ok on the mainland.

As far as adventures go, I made it to the top of Mauna Kea, the highest point in Hawaii. This is my 4th highpoint, and first one outside of the midwest. It wasn't physically hard to get up there, but it did take an SUV with 4WD. Part of the road to the summit is gravel, so they don't want other vehicles going on that stretch of road. Before I got that far, though, I went on another interesting path called "saddle road". Ok, so it wasn't that interesting, but there were several one lane bridges, scary hills, and some pretty good curves.

I also drove to pololu valley, which is on the northern part of the island. It was a beautiful sight, as I saw some waterfalls off cliffs into the ocean. The sands were black there, making this beach unique. It wasn't too crowded, but there were other people there.

For the most part, though, I spent our time on the big island relaxing and going to comfortable beaches in Kona. Each beach offered something a little different, from big waves to sea turtles. It was a great trip and I hope to visit Hawaii again!

Luminary Loppet

The annual City of lakes loppet in Minneapolis held the popular luminary loppet again this year. The event was a walk through the wood this year, compared to last year, when it was a snowshoe/ski event. The location also changed, as it was held in Theodore Wirth park, instead of on lake of the isles.

Despite the change in location and activity, the event felt quite similar to last year. The luminaries, the real star of the show, were lining the course There were some neat designs, like an ice pyramid and tall cylinders.

During the day the temperatures got in the upper 30s, melting some of the ice luminaries down a bit prior to the event, and melting some of the snow on the trail through the woods. The trail was a bit slippery in spots, causing a bottleneck when walking down a small hill. Even with a bit of ice on the trail, though, it was a fun 1.5 mile walk through the woods.

While I preferred the location on Lake of the Isles, Theodore wirth park mad for a nice location as well. One problem, though: I still am waiting to use my snowshoes, and its February!

group fitness classes

I used to be of the attitude that I could easily get a better workout on my own and didn't need group fitness classes. While it is true that I've gone on many long runs and have exhausted myself, I find a strong value in group fitness classes now that I am not training for anything specific.
I have participated in 3 different classes: bootcamp, tabata, and abs.

Bootcamp is a tough class, and may involve some running (though not very far), core exercises, lifting light weights quickly, and general muscle burnout. This class has made me sweat hard every time, and has even made me dizzy a couple times when I was ill-prepared. I often feel the after effects of this class the next day.

Tabata is similar to bootcamp, but every move is only done for 20 seconds, then you get a 10 second break (usually just to do an easier exercise). You repeat this over and over, and it doesn't take long before it becomes very tough. With enough repetition, any move is tough, and that is what this class is all about.

Abs class is pretty straightforward. We perform movements to engage the core muscles. The class goes for 10-15 minutes, so its never easy.

Another benefit of group fitness classes is the fact that you are doing the workout with others. I find that I will push myself a little harder when others are around.

If you are on the fence over a group fitness class, give it a try.

Red bull "Crashed Ice" in Saint Paul

Near the Cathedral in St. Paul, there was a lot more going on than usual from the 12-14th of January. Red Bull cae to town with another one of it's extreme events. Attracting thousands of people to watch skaters go down a track of ice with jumps and other obstacles, it was fun to watch. I didn't see too many crazy wipeouts, but there certainly were a few.

The biggest surprise to me was just how big the ice track was. It stretched from the cathedral down a couple of blocks. It took them a couple of weeks to put up, and I know it took some serious generators to keep the track frozen. You could hear them humming the days before the event. They have since cleaned it all up, but it certainly created a lot of temporary jobs for the building ad take down.

I know the event was filmed, so I'm sure there are plenty of highlights on red bull's website. Check it out if you want to see an action packed sport that you doesn't take long to understand.