Featured ski – Nine Mile 6k loop
With 30 km of groomed trails at Nine Mile County Recreation Area, it’s hard to cover all the trails. In fact, when I was in high school, it was my goal to ski all the trails in one week. The tricky part is that most of the trails were one way, so to cover all of them, I had to ski many trails twice and a few even three times to reach all the trails. I love the plethora of options for ski loops at Nine Mile; however, for a first-timer on the trails, this can be a nightmare. Nothing’s worse than thinking for miles you were almost back to the car when you finally stumble across kiosk only to discover you’re on the complete opposite end of the park!
Grooming at Nine Mile is the best in Central Wisconsin!
So Nine Mile’s marked loops are great options for those not intimately familiar with all the trails. Nine Mile offers trails for all ability levels with a kid’s Cookie Loop, 6k loop, 10k loop, and 20k loop (plus a few more trails including black diamond trails not on any of these loops). No need to carry a map and stop at trail intersections as loops are clearly signed. (As well as each kilometer so you know how far to go.) If you’re new to skiing, check out the Beginner’s Guide to Cross-Country Skiing at Nine Mile County Forest.
Great grooming
Marathon County Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Department not only does a great job marking the trails, but the quality of grooming is excellent too. And I know the groomers take pride in their work. I have been stopped multiple times by the groomer when I happen to be out skiing when he is grooming to be asked where he’d like me to groom next. Once he even chased me down! (Tip: I have found the best source of grooming reports for Nine Mile and most of the Midwest is skinnyski.com.) The Wausau Nordic Ski Club has been also working on leveling the trails to enable trails to be skied even during low snow conditions.
Starting big
Frequent signage makes it easy to find the way on the loop. Here’s the trail “narrowed” to double track after I peel off “Main Street”.
The start of all the loops begin at the chalet heading south down “Main Street”. This is where all the races onsite start including Badger State Games and the Snekkevik Classic which is the oldest continuing organized ski race in the state, surpassing even the American Birkebeiner (or Birkie by regulars)! Here the trail spans a good 30 meters across to handle the amount of traffic not only during the races but on busy days on the trails.
As I round the bend, I continue on “Main Street” where many trails branch off, including the 6k loop. Initially the trail is lit, which is great for options to get some fresh air even on the shortest days of the year. A few small hills allow me to mix up my technique whether I’m skating or classic-ing. Now it’s “narrowed” down to double track. Also, like nearly all the trails off “Main Street” the trail is one way the remainder of the loop so you don’t need to worry about playing “chicken” with any skiers.
Be ready for a sharp left turn at the bottom of the hill. If this is too intimidating, take the singletrack bypass.
Options abound
Even on the 6k loop I have several options to shorten, first is about 2k in, to continue on the “lit loop” for about a 3.5k route. I continue as planned and after the 2k split, there are a series of hills, concluding with the biggest uphill on the loop. The first is a quick down and up, that on most days I carry enough momentum on this straight trail that I only need a couple of strokes to crest the top.
The next downhill is by far the most technical on the 6k loop. There’s an option for a bypass on the singletrack mountain bike trail, which I’d recommend considering in icy conditions or if you don’t feel comfortable bombing a downhill with a sharp curve. Although this is not marked, you can’t miss the bright yellow “steep hill” sign on the left side of the trail, with the bypass on the left. And with today’s excellent conditions, a bypass is not needed – only three steps and I was around the corner (I never attempt to stay in the tracks on this sharp corner). Even though each kilometer is marked, you’ll probably miss the 4k to go mark stepping (or flying) around the corner as I did.
Take advantage of the firewood and build a campfire along the ski and snowshoe trails at Check Point Charlie.
The next challenge of this hill is that you have very little speed to carry into the next uphill – the steepest and one of the biggest on the loop. Here there is a groomed bypass option, as this hill faces the south and is usually the first to give way in low snow conditions. This hill is rarely tracked and herringbone technique is a sure bet on classic days and sometimes even on skate days!
Time for a rest
After a gradual uphill, I hit a T where I met up with the 10k and 20k loops – all of which end on the same 3k of trail. This is one of my favorite parts of the trail. With a gradual downhill, I can fly the next kilometer. I glide effortlessly past the 10k snowshoe loop and Check Point Charlie. I notice no one has made a campfire there recently as there’s a good foot of snow piled atop the picnic table and benches there.
Another shortcut
You caught me – I really didn’t zoom by, I stopped to snap a picture!
Immediately after is another shortcut back to the chalet on the “Y” trail. I generally enjoy this trail as it seems mostly downhill to me. There’s a large sign reading “Short Way Back Next Right” so you won’t miss it; however, the right turn onto the trail is always a bit tricky with all the speed I carry into the turn. But today I’m continuing on. I zoom by the 3k to go sign. Apparently people like to count down the final kilometers because these kilometer markers from here on out are impossible to miss.
More downs
I continue downhill where the trail turns to the left and on fast days there’s sometimes a few tracks continuing straight into the brush. With the ideal conditions since the last snowfall there has yet to be a victim on this corner.
After a small climb I now hit the hill my high school coach encouraged us to jump in the tracks and seeing how far we could glide. (Tip: If you’re skating this is great practice for getting in and out of the tracks, which is important for races.)
Only a few more ups
Next is the last significant hill. It still only takes 30 seconds or so to get up, no nothing compared to the powerlines at the Birkie. Today’s conditions are so great I’m not even tempted with the short cut back to the chalet at the top (and then again at the bottom) of the hill. After another long downhill to catch my breath I head up another short climb only to rest on another downhill. I hit the steepest hill left at a little more than 1k to go. Although it’s steep and I don’t have much glide, it still only takes a little burst to get up and over.
The heated chalet is a great facility onsite. This will be our site for Wausau’s first winter triathlon!
I glide over a series of small hills (appropriately nicknamed Déjà Vu hills) stepping around the corners under I reach my final little down where I hit the finish line area. Once again the trail opens up to allow racers to navigate around each other in the final sprint to the finish. I recall all the times I raced here both on skis and on foot in high school cross country. Then I continue on for a little more skiing!
Onsite amenities
The heated chalet is an excellent resource for trail advice, updated grooming conditions, and of course to warm up. And if you are new to skiing, you can rent equipment onsite when the chalet opens traditionally on Dec 16. Also you can attend free adult ski lessons through Wausau Nordic Ski Club.
More winter fun
To read more on where to find other great winter outdoor recreation, including snowshoeing and fat tire biking, read my prior blog post. Or read about the other marked ski loops linked below.
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