Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
THE SNOW is falling and so are the temperatures Wednesday at the Michigan Welcome Center for the Mark Fitting Memorial Walk. Fitting had an idea seven years ago to get people snowshoeing and asked his friend, Sam Davey, to help organize it. Fitting has died, but Davey continues organizing the walks and they average between 40 and 100 people most Wednesday evenings. From right to left are Davey, Carol Erickson, Scott Carlson and Bill Erickson.
By IAN MINIELLY
Ironwood - Seven years ago Mark Fitting had an idea to start a regular snowshoeing group in Ironwood for local residents to get together and walk the trails.
He talked to his friend, Sam Davey, about organizing the weekly events and said he would take care of the post-walk chow arrangements if Davey would organize the walks.
Davey agreed and the Superior Snowshoe Walking group was born.
On Wednesday evening, the group met at the Michigan welcome center in Ironwood at 6:30 to walk the 1.75- mile loop in the cold and dark. The welcome center loop has become the annual first event for the group and is named the Mark Fitting Memorial Walk, after the late Ironwood resident.
Most walkers bring a headlamp to light the trail, as it is quite dark on cloud-covered nights, when the snow in unable to reflect the starlight.
Temperatures were minus-4 degrees at the start of the walk, but the snowshoers had plans to meet afterward at the Maplewood Bar and Grill on Cloverland Drive to warm up. It is likely the frigid cold kept some people at home who normally come out and it definitely impacted the number of children walking the loop.
Davey said, "They usually average between 40 to 100 people every week, with a high of over 200." There is a group of regulars that come out every week, but they have new people join them almost every week.
The walks will continue every Wednesday until March.
