Fat Biking - A New Winter Adventure

"Life is either a great adventure or nothing."  Helen Keller

How do you live your life?  Me - my life is all about the adventure.  And adventure for me typically means I've walked out the door and am on my way to do something in the great outdoors.

Seasonality doesn't stop me.  I do many of the same adventures year round.  Summer / Winter Backpacking, Rock and Ice Climbing (I need to more of these), Bicycling, Hiking, Snowshoeing and on and on.  I'm always open to trying new sports and activities and this winter is no different.  Over the last couple of years I've seen the occasional Fat Bike riding around in the winter and have always been intrigued by them.  Being a cyclist both road and mountain bike, this seemed to be a natural progression.  Well this was the year.

Fat Bike Leap

This was the year I made the leap.  After renting a Surly Pugsley for an afternoon I was hooked.  I knew I had to have one.  Two weeks of researching, talking to people who have them and expanding my knowledge of the Fat Bike world I found exactly what I wanted.  A Fyxation Blackhawk.  And lucky for me - Fyxation was in the process of moving their headquarters into my neighborhood.  I was able to walk down and get it set up for me.

Fyxation Blackhawk

Fyxation Blackhawk - John Muir Mountain Bike Trails (Blue)

My new winter adventure.

After a couple of days of waiting patiently it was built and ready to come home.  Waiting for that first weekend to ride was hard.  But once it arrived - I jumped on and never looked back.  I was hooked!  My bike, my FAT bike. I was riding a bike, in winter, in snow.  What could be better?

Fat Bike Adventures

To quote Dr. Seuss:

"Oh the places you'll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all"

That's kind of how I felt (except substitute bike for ball).  Adventure awaited.

• I rode in my first ever bike race and took 2nd place.  Then I immediately rode in my second race.  And I was hooked on the thrill of racing.  
• I rode on the John Muir Mountain Bike Trails.  In Winter. On Snow.  How incredibly fun.
• I took a road trip chasing the last of the snow to Michigan and rode at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and on the NTN Trails in Marquette.  

And I've met some of the nicest people along the way.  The Fat Biking community is incredible.  

The snow may be gone (or do I go in search of more snow?), but the Fyxation Blackhawk will not be going into hibernation.  I'm sure there may be a summer adventure along the way where I'll want to ride a fat bike.  

"Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt."  John Muir

Or in this case snow.  But whatever you do - get outside and find your own adventure.

Related Posts:

• Autobiography Title - In Search of Snow
• Never Giving Up - Adventure on the Trails

Munising and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Waterfalls Winter to Spring

Northern Michigan Waterfalls

Northern Michigan has some amazing waterfalls scattered throughout its vast expanse of wilderness and park areas.  Last December (2013) I visited Munising for a couple of days after Christmas to snowshoe at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and visit a few of the Munising, Michigan area waterfalls.  With plenty of snow on the ground and cold temperatures coming in, we got some pretty breathtaking and up close views of the waterfalls in their frozen or nearly frozen state.  (This was prior to the polar vortex moving south.)

Of course, after the winter we had with snow and cold, I started to wonder what these same waterfalls would look like in the spring months.  So off I went on Memorial Day Weekend 2014 back up to the Munising area to find out.  With spring being cold and seeming to come in late, some waterfalls still had ice at the bottom and even Lake Superior still had ice.  It was pretty amazing to see.  But all the waterfalls were flowing briskly and providing another view of nature's beauty.

Laughing Whitefish Falls

Laughing Whitefish Falls State Park is just west of of the Munising area.  It's a smaller state park with a nice trail that you can take to get to the waterfall.  In the winter the road to this park is not maintained and you do need to park out near the main road and go by foot.  If you have the right amount of snow, you can easily make it into a beautiful snowshoe hike.  In the summer, it's a quick walk from the parking lot to the falls.  You can also connect from this trail to the North Country Trail if you want to extend your hike for a few more miles or a few more days.

Laughing Whitefish Falls, December 26, 2013

Laughing Whitefish Falls, May 26, 2014

Wagner Falls

Wagner Falls is located just before you get into Munising on M94.  You can park along the road and take the short path that will lead you to the falls.  

Wagner Falls, December 28, 2013

Wagner Falls, May 24, 2014

 Munising Falls

Munising Falls is amazing in the winter.  The ice fall is big.  And even with the ice, you can still hear the water that is cascading down inside the waterfall.  Munising Falls is a short drive from Munising and is at the entrance to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore before you get to Sand Point.  In the winter, the stairs that lead up to the higher level views of the waterfalls are roped off.  But if you visit at that time of the year, you'll notice that doesn't stop people from going up and even behind the waterfall for a close up view.

Munising Falls, December 26, 2013

Munising Falls, May 24, 2014

Miners Falls

Miners Falls is within the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore area.  In the winter it's a bit more of a challenge to get to as the roads within Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore are not maintained and you will need to park ~3 miles from Miners Falls.  Snowshoes again are the perfect way to get to the falls and to continue on and explore the park.  In summer you can drive to the parking area for the waterfall and hike the short .6 miles to the waterfall.

Miners Falls, December 27, 2013

Miners Falls, May 25, 2014

Miners Castle and the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Superior shoreline

No trip to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore would be complete without a trip to Miners Castle.  Even in the winter when it requires backcountry snowshoeing along Miners River and through the wilderness forest.  And no, there are not any trails that lead from Miners Falls to Miners Castle - we went a little of course and navigated our own way.

Miners Castle, December 27, 2013

Miners Castle, May 25, 2014

These are just a few of the many waterfalls in Northern Michigan.  They're definitely worth a visit and even worth the challenge in winter.  Snowshoe in and you'll have these places all to yourself, along with the beauty of winter and nature all around you.

I encourage you to break away and explore these beautiful places.  And for this post - there is no better quote from John Muir that describes how I felt when visiting these places both in winter and in spring.

"The snow is melting into music."  John Muir