St Croix 40 Winter Ultra (Part 4)

Wednesday January 1, 2025

After coming home from my 2nd trip to the cabin in 3 weeks, it finally snowed on December 19th! Snowed most of the morning. After snow blowing/shoveling 5-6", I put my sled in the car, drove up to Rice Lake Elementary and headed up to the mountain bike single-track trails I'd found awhile back. Virgin snow as no one had ventured out yet that day! Went through the trail 2x and headed back home. What I learned: single track with a sled is difficult as the sled has a mind of its own and will always take the path of least resistance, which often means slamming directly into a tree! This was annoying, especially with my particularly stretchy bungees.

Single Track

I wore my Kahtoola cleats and didn't really need them. I also had bought a size large to make them easy to get on and off, but I now realize that this also makes them slip around a lot which is annoying and was causing some hot spots/blisters on my toes. I need to buy a size small. 

Worked my butt off on the 20th with getting food prepared for both Christmas and the cabin so I could take advantage of the snow over the weekend. Headed out again on both December 21st and 22nd. I discovered a 2nd single track up near Centerville lake that I wanted to try out. Marcus joined me on both days, but we went at our own pace. After the experience with the single track the previous day, I decided to try using a non-stretchy short rope instead of the bungees so I had more control over the sled. This worked well as it was less likely to run itself into trees, but it is harder to pull a sled with a single rope than with 2 bungees. One of the days was cooler than the other and I wore a bulky Icelandic sweater under my Casaval Hoodie which seemed to work well. 

The carabiners on my bungees were making me nervous, though, after one pulled loose. Dad gave me a bunch of "locking" carabiners that I'm using instead, they're much more secure!

After getting these 3 great runs in and celebrating Christmas, the entire family headed back to the cabin. For me, the 3rd time in 5 weeks! It was a particularly warm weekend, in fact we actually had a bit of rain up there. I also discovered the snowmobile trails which were absolutely perfect as this will be the type of trail the race is held on.

Poplar Lake

The first day out, I headed south towards the Trail Center. There was way more elevation during this section than I was expecting as the Gunflint Trail is relatively flat throughout. After walking the sled down most of the inclines, I finally remembered Griffin asking me if I had ever rode the sled down hills. So I tried it! It was so much fun and the sled was actually quite easy to control! Once getting to Hungry Jack, I thought of turning around and going back via the snowmobile trails, but was kind of curious about heading back home via the lake so I hiked over to the Trail Center and got on Poplar Lake instead. It was an incredibly cloudy/misty/foggy day and the lake was quite something. In hindsight, the snowmobile trail probably would have been smarter (and would have given me more practice sledding down hills).  Only passed 2 snowmobilers this day. It was very quiet out, didn't see any wildlife. Going up hills with the bungees though was a bit tough and I was afraid of snapping them. 

"Sledding" Down Hills

The second day out, I headed north. Plan was to get about 13-15 miles in. Marcus started out with me, but we got separated pretty early. In the middle of the first incline, I realized I needed to solve the bungee situation so I attached the single rope to the middle of my belt and made sure its length was slightly longer than the bungees (while they're not stretched) to ensure that it would only come into use on an incline and would be slack the rest of the time. This seemed to work well and I would do this again. 

The trail was extremely quiet and after getting to Loon Lake Lodge, I started wondering if I should just keep going and have Marcus pick me up wherever I ended up. We weren't sure we could communicate with both of us being out of cell coverage, but I tried to text him using the satellite feature that both of our new phones have and we eventually were able to communicate back and forth and it was decided that he'd just come pick me up when I was done. So I kept heading north! Passed 2 snowmobilers, but for the most part had the woods to myself. I finally got to the "T" where I could either continue to the end of the trail or turn off for Gunflint Lodge. I took the turn and hit 3 major downhills before ending at the Gunflint Lake boat landing. On the middle of the 3 downhills, I heard some snowmobilers coming so I let them pass. At the bottom of this hill, I crossed paths with some skiers who stopped cold and gave me some really weird looks as I slid passed them riding my sled! Must have been a sight!

Water Boil on
Gunflint Lake

Once on the lake, I texted Marcus to have him come pick me up and I took the time to practice being at the aid station. I went on the lake and set up my stove and started boiling water. My fuel tablet was broken and instead of opening a new one, I tried it anyhow. But my matches wouldn't light. The striker was wet. I fished out a new striker and it was also giving me trouble so I definitely need a backup lighter! Finally the fuel tablet lit and I started boiling the water. Meanwhile, I fished out my down jacket and my foam pad. Decided to change socks and shoes for the practice and boy, did that make a difference! Socks were soaked as well as the shoes. Putting on dry socks and shoes was a game changer! So easy to do while standing on the foam pad, too. So glad I bought it! My water wasn't boiled yet, so I also decided to change clothes. Took off my wet jacket, wool vest and long-sleeve and opted to just put on a dry Polartec hoodie and my puffy Pumori as I was done for the day. During the race, I would have put on an entire new set of layers. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do for a 2nd outer layer though. My Casaval Hoodie is perfect, but it does get wet and I don't want to put on any wet clothes after taking the time to change. I have doubles of all of my other layers, except my outermost layer so I still need to figure out what to do for this backup layer. I might just end up bringing my North Face Thermoball hoodie, even though it might not be as warm. I can always add another layer (maybe my Polartec hoodie?) under to make up for the difference.

Things I need to improve/add/change:

1. My foam bumper has taken a beating during the last few weeks (hitting a bunch of trees didn't help) so I am working on replacing the foam again. Dad suggested upholstery foam and I happen to have a piece of 2" foam that might work better, left over from when I made the cushions for my Morris chairs. Will work on this tomorrow. 

2. Replace carabiners on bungees that attach to waist belt with the locking ones from dad. I had just replaced the ones that attach to the sled and realize I should replace all of them for maximum security.

3. Bought smaller Kahtoola cleats. They'll be more difficult to get on, but if there's ice and I need them, I'd rather have a pair that fits and not a pair that slide around. 

4. Bought both reflective tape AND a different type of reflective vest. I love the pocket on the vest I'm using, but getting it on and off is a pain. I cut a seam down the middle so I have better access to my zippers and can zip/unzip more easily, but it's still annoying to wear. The pockets in my Casaval are huge and I think I can just stash snacks in it instead of using the vest. So I'll either try the new vest or will put reflective tape on my jacket. 

5. Don't use a broken fuel tablet and maybe have it open and in the stove ready to light? And have a backup fuel tablet ready to go as you might need two. 

6. Bring instant coffee to mix in to the water? Might be quicker to dissolve than hot chocolate?

7. Don't put chocolate chips in your gorp - they're too hard when frozen and you don't want to chip a tooth. Better to add peanut butter m&m's and chocolate covered espresso beans along with multiple types of SALTED nuts and dried cherries/cranberries. Also, buy some king size Reese's peanut butter cups. And maybe make some cookies - the coconut macaroons and gingersnaps I made for Christmas are soft when frozen and easy to eat! 

8. The balaclava I love has been discontinued but I need a better backup one than the one I already own so I bought a new turtle fleece one from REI as an extra. 

9. Stash your gear so that it's really easy to change socks/shoes and upper layers at the aid station. And plan on changing socks 3x (once after 4ish hours, once at the aid station where I'll change shoes, too, and once again around 12ish hours).

10. Add pull ties to zippers to make them easier to grab, especially if wearing mittens. Use the green fabric ties from mom. 

11. Put pee funnel in exterior pocket so you're not having to hunt around for it in the big duffel. 

12. Bought a better fire starter. Practice with it and make sure it works in cold/windy weather!

At this point, I guess I'm as ready as I can be, but the fact is, it rained and was well above freezing for the entire week after Christmas and the little bit of snow that we got is now completely gone. And there's literally no snow in the forecast so I'm not at all sure what the Race Director's plan is? Last year, they were faced with a very similar situation, but fortunately it snowed 1-2" the night before the race. Some spots were bare, but it was just enough to pull a sled. Fingers crossed!

BACK-UP PLAN: If the race is cancelled, Marcus and I may head back to the cabin on January 11th. As of today, temps look to be about 5-10 degrees with little wind. My ideal would be 15-25, but so long as it's not below zero, I think I'll be okay. On Sunday, he'll drop me off at the Trail Center and I'll hike/sled to the End of the Trail. It's about 30 miles (so, not 40, but it's something) and I'd also do most of it during daylight, but would end in the dark. With the snowmobile trail being so close to the road, I can tap out at any point and have him pick me up. Then we'd head home Monday.