35 WINTER 2021 ISSUE 02 / VOL . 02 SNOWGOER . COM
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Many trails are tight and they wind through the woods at the bottoms of ravines , but up on top of the bluffs riders can fly across big agricultural fields that are decorated with crevasses and rolling hills . But then the trail will curve back into the woods and descend 500 feet or more with steep walls of limestone , shale and sandstone on each side of the narrow , winding path , and a sharp dropoff along the edge .
There ’ s a sensation of openness when riding through the woods here because most of the trees are oak , elm , birch , cherry and walnut that drop their leaves in the fall , unlike softwood conifers found in the northern woods that keep their needles and block visibility .
An area known as the Zumbro River bottoms gave me an eerie feeling for some reason . The trail followed the river ’ s edge between the trees and it was mostly shaded when we rode through there one afternoon . This excellent path was smooth , and my guides said that ’ s typically the case because it ’ s low and well protected from the wind .
We must ’ ve crossed more than two-dozen bridges over two days of riding in southeast Minnesota , and most of them need to be removed in the spring and stored during the off-season so they don ’ t wash away when creeks and rivers flow .
In June 1922 , Ralph Samuelson strapped two boards to his feet and had his brother , driving a boat , pull him around on the water of Lake Pepin in Lake City , Minnesota — and so the sport of waterskiing was born .