American Birkebeiner

Birkie 27K Marker

Sponsored by Ski & Tea

Story By Linda Cook

In 2008 Linda Cook and Juli Lynch Founded Ski and Tea to bring women in
our beautiful northwoods together to cross country ski and to help them
feel successful and proud to be cross country skiers.

We sweat through lung-busting, leg-burning workouts every Friday of the year somewhere on the Birkie Trail for all seasons. Rain, snow blizzards, sub-zero cold, wind, mosquitoes or ticks do not stop our work outs. The first year we wanted to give back to the trail we love and use by raising $1,500 by becoming a Trail Friend and chose the 27K Classic Trail for our marker. The generosity and enthusiasm from the group was overwhelming with their donations.

We celebrated our first anniversary at the 27K Classic Ski and Tea
Trail Marker with Champagne. We were bundled up in our warmest ski
clothes on a frosty sub-zero day after an awesome ski workout.

Since then we have celebrated three anniversaries at "our" marker
and have plans in place for our fourth anniversary celebration on
January 6, 2012. The money to pay for our marker is now partly paid for
by our group volunteering for the Fat Tire Festival and the other part
comes from membership dues.

The marker symbolizes much more than just doing our share to keep the trail in shape. It is an icon for what we as a women's ski training group have accomplish in changing many lives of women to not only become better skiers but their very best athletic
selves with many competing in the marathon, half marathon, relay teams, and Birkie Trek at the Birkie Trail Run and The Fat Tire Race and of couse the Birkie and Korte.

During the Friday On Snow days, we gather at our marker for drills and games following our workout and host women's only ski clinics with the CXC Elite Skier Women as clinicians learning the latest techniques to improve our enjoyment of skiing. Ski and Tea
members feel a sense of pride when we bike, hike or ski past that brown marker that says "Ski and Tea" 27K Classic. Thanks to all the crews at the Birkie Office who keep the trails beautifully groomed and mowed to make our Ski and Tea Fridays the best.

 Birkie 24K Marker

Sponsored by CAMBA:
Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association

Story By Ron Bergin

The Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association (CAMBA) has had a presence in the Birkie Trail corridor since the its inception in 1993. Several segments of the Birkie Trail have actually been adopted as mountain bike routes and incorporated into the CAMBA system. Over the years CAMBA has maintained these trail segments, performing routine maintenance and undertaking more involved projects, including erosion mitigation efforts on some of the steeper hills.

More recently, as CAMBA has launched full-long into its singletrack trail development initiative, the Birkie Trail corridor has featured prominently in the siting of new singletrack trails from Hayward to Seeley to Cable. In part to take advantage of some of the protection afforded the Birkie Trail corridor by County Forest Comprehensive Land Use Plans and to utilize the area’s dynamic terrain, CAMBA singletrack trails: Hatchery Creek, Makwa, Seeley Pass and others yet to be constructed, have been interwoven throughout the corridor. Several CAMBA trailheads share or are adjacent to Birkie trailheads at Hatchery Creek Park, Gravel Pit Rd., Mosquito Brook Rd., and County Highway OO.

When completed, the development of this interconnected system of singletrack trails will create the mountain bike equivalent of the Birkie Trail, connecting Hayward to Cable via continuous singletrack trail and providing yet another world-class recreational asset and tourism attraction for the region.

Popular not only for mountain biking, the CAMBA singletrack trails have also been enthusiastically embraced by trail runners, hikers and snowshoers.
CAMBA is proud to support the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation by adopting Kilometer 24. To learn more about CAMBA, please visit www.cambatrails.org.
 

Birkie 38K Marker -- Mosquito Brook

Sponsored by Sisu Foundation

Story By Ben Popp and Tom Helm

A Tale of Two Skiers & Sisu Spirit!

"Sisu" is a Finnish term loosely translated into English as “strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity.”

Ben Popp ... Setting Records Around the World

Ben Popp, Sisu Foundation’s Executive Director, stood atop his first pair of skis at age two … it had begun. In 2002 Ben won “the worlds toughest race,” the two-man division of the Race Across America (RAAM) and completed the 3,000 mile solo race in 2009 (1 of less than 200 in the world). Ben has had top 25 Birkie finishes, won 24-hour bike and ski races, completed Ironman triathlons, run sub-3-hour marathons, and has won numerous ski and bike races. His passion is enabling others to see and feel the benefits of an active, outdoor lifestyle.

“I have now coached for over 15 years,” says Ben, “and enjoy coaching high school beginners as much as National Champion ski teams.”

Ben coached the ski teams at Carleton, Saint Mary’s, Visitation, Synergy, Ride-n-Glide, and currently runs Endurance Athlete, a coaching and training business based in St. Paul. He is now in in his sixth year with Sisu Skiers. He has the energy and enthusiasm to motivate anyone.

Tom Helm ... First Birkie at 51 Years Young!

I have traveled to Hayward, WI, since my teen years, and my family purchased Round Lake marina in 1982. I was busy in my medical studies so never thought about getting involved in the Birkie until recently. In January of 2009 a close friend got me interested in cross country skiing and I skied my first race at that time. That was the Pre-Birkie and I was devastated at how hard it was. My poor performance was a combination of not knowing good ski technique and not being in shape enough to tackle such a tough race.

I contacted Ben Popp in the spring of 2009 and joined the SISU Foundation at that time. Ben and his other coaches changed my life. Their devotion to a healthy lifestyle and teaching excellent ski technique prepared me for my first Birkie. I completed my first Birkie in 2010 and consider it a major Life accomplishment.

What also happened in this process is that I became part of the SISU community. The SISU members are a wonderful group of like-minded people devoted to becoming great cross-country skiers but also living a healthy lifestyle. SISU Foundation's goal is to become a tremendous resource in promoting active outdoor lifestyle.

To hear Tom's Birkie Fever story, "The Power Line -- Which Way is Shorter," go to our Birkie Fever page.

Why the Mosquito Brook K Marker

“Mosquito Brook is the closest trail to my family’s place in Hayward. I chose the 38K marker there for SISU Nordic Ski Foundation as it one of the main Birkie Trail Heads and an honor to support one of these landmarks. My goal is for people to hear more about our group and to promote cross country skiing any way we can. We at SISU think being a Birkie Trail Friend is a great way to reach out, lead the way, and get more people out on snow.”

Sisu Foundation
The Sisu Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development, support, and promotion of an active outdoor lifestyle, including Nordic skiing and other outdoor endurance activities. Our programs serve people of all ages and abilities, regardless of income. To learn more about SISU, visit www.sisuskiers.org, or email info@sisuskiers.org
 

Kortelopet 22K Marker

Sponsored by Valhalla Townhouse Association

Story By Steven Menk

I had been coming up to Telemark Resort to ski since 1979 when a friend read about this fancy cross country ski place. I soon learned about a race called the Birkebeiner, and in the back of my mind it went on my bucket list. In 1985 I had a break in my education and decided to go for it. Three quarters of the way through the race I thought I would never do it again, but then came the finish line and the feeling you get from this tremendous accomplishment.

The next year a friend of mine wanted to do it so once again I started and at the three-quarters mark wondered what I was doing and then finished very excited to do it again. I have been at every start since and will be doing my 27th Birkie this year, in 2012. I have done approximately half freestyle and half classic. For my tenth I invited everyone I had skied with to do it with me. I paid their entry fee, put them up, and fed them. Some of those people are still doing the Birkie or Kortie to this day.

My wife did her several Korties and then her first Birkie on my tenth, missing only one since. Both of my sons started at age 13 with the Kortie and moved to the Birkie as soon as they could. I have a daughter-in-law who has done a Birkie, and a daughter-in-law who has done a Kortie. That gives us a grand total of 71 Birkies skied by my family.

Because of our love of skiing we started to look for property in the Cable, WI, area in 2002 and purchased a Valhalla Townhome in 2003. For us it was perfect. It was in the heart of ski country, at the start of the Birkie, and the biking was a bonus. Every winter since then our weekends are spent at our Townhome. We can ski out our door and onto the great trail system of Telemark Resort, connecting us to the Birkie Trail. Since I never went to a trailhead I never paid to ski on the Birkie trail. Knowing what it cost to maintain we quickly made the decision to join the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation and send in an extra trail donation each year. I always felt this was like buying my yearly pass and thought it was money well spent.

I read about the Birkie Trail Friend program and first thought it would be fun to buy a sign as a family. Having skied the trail so many times I pretty much knew every marker but never really had a favorite. Then a light went on and I realized we had a sign right out our door. The 22K Kortie sign. Even though I have never skied the Kortie I ski the trail there all winter and I have lots of friends and relatives who ski it.

Then, expanding on that idea, I thought it would be even better for the Valhalla Townhouse Association to buy the marker. It's right next to us and we have lots of Kortie skiers. I went to our spring meeting and presented the idea. Everyone at the meeting thought it was a great idea and we decided to go with it. We sent out two letters to the owners, it was purely volunteer, but we had a nice response. For the next three years, as the Kortie skiers ski by their last kilometer marker not only will they go by the Valhalla Townhomes they will see our name on the sign as Trail Friends.

I'm lucky I get to go up to the Cable area so often and bike and ski. My hope is that other people who also have that opportunity realize what a gem we have in the Birkie Trail and that it always can use extra support, whether it's helping on a work day, joining the ABSF, or a little extra something in trail donations.

I love the idea that the Birkie is a lifestyle. It became that long ago for many of us.

Thanks again,

Steven Menk - Madison Lake, MN
Valhalla Townhouse Association - Cable, WI

Tell us your Birkie Trail Friends K-marker story. Whether you are a Birkie skier, spectator, volunteer, or just enjoy supporting the Birkie Trail and all it stands for, email Susan Kendrick at media@birkie.com.