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| Approaching the trestle just east of Beaman on the Comet Trail. |
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BEAMAN, IOWA - Central Iowa experienced what was, perhaps, the largest winter storm so far this season as March "roared in like a lion" and dumped several inches of snow from the southwest to the northeast portion of the state. The bullseye of this particular storm seemed to be in a swath near Marshalltown northeast through Grundy and Tama Counties toward the Waterloo area with several reports of a foot or more of snow from communities in this area.
It just so happened that we were planning a trip to the area to visit family the weekend after the storm so it provided the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the freshly fallen snow and trek a stretch of the Comet Trail from Beaman toward Gladbrook on the snowshoes.
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| The Beaman Lions' Club sponsors this 1/4 mile trail section. |
Temperatures were in the upper 20's as I departed from the shadow of Mid-Iowa Cooperative's "prairie silos" (cement grain elevators) and headed eastbound on the former CNW right-of-way. As I was lacing up the snowshoes, a trio of snowmobiles appeared and were easily overheard contemplating taking the trail which, at least on this section, is prohibited according to the posted signage and makeshift barricade that had been put up across the trail. A previous snowmobiler had obviously disregarded the signage as seen in the photo above. The group then determined that the "official" snowmobile route out of Beaman (one that has been well laid out and organized by a group of
snowmobile enthusiasts from Central Iowa) took a different path and they headed back west. The Comet Trail from Beaman west to Conrad is open to snowmobiles, and based on the tracks is being well utilized this winter - which is great to see.
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| Looking west from the K Avenue Trail head |
I am used to seeing the Comet Trail from the saddle of a bicycle in more temperate conditions - spring, summer, and fall - so this particular journey was a different experience. Having no foliage on the trees permitted you to see some things that you normally don't during those seasons, such as a glimpse of Wolf Creek through the heavily wooded area on the southeast side of Beaman. The snowmobile tracks on this stretch actually made trekking through the snow fairly easy; once I reached the trailhead a quarter mile down the trail the snowmobile tracks were gone and now it was a good opportunity to see if the snow shoes would hold up in deep, powdery snow.
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| Snowshoe Tracks |
As I progressed east, there were more open areas where the snow had drifted to at least three or four feet deep. Trudging through the snow was still a workout, even with snow shoes on. The shoes did, however, prevent me from sinking as deep as I would have without them, and on the drifts that had hardened just a bit I was able to sail right over the top of them without getting buried much at all. I made it just about to Wolf Creek Park before I had to turn around in order to get back in time for us to wrap up our visit. The return trek was obviously a little easier since I had already blazed a trail. The snowshoes worked flawlessly and in relatively short order I was back at my starting point.
After a long week of being inside, mostly in front of a computer, it was a
tremendous feeling having the chance to get outside and enjoy some fresh air, get some good exercise, and enjoy the serenity of the winter time along the corridor of the former "Toledo and Northwestern Railroad" that laid rails here back in 1880. It was the dose of Vitamin "N" that I really needed this weekend!
