Winter Trail Walk

It was a soft quiet winter Sunday morning as we pulled into the parking lot at the Jane Addams trailhead. Not a car was in sight; only the fresh show. I had an urge to shift from four to two-wheel drive and cut a couple of donuts before hoofing it up the trail.

As Sue Robinson and I stepped from my Chevy Blazer, Commodore Dennis (Robinson) was digitally recording the event for posterity. This was our first trail walk of the year—a four mile round trip to Scioto Mills.

The Jane Addams Trail stretches north from the trailhead through the bucolic burgs of Scioto Mills, Red Oak, Orangeville, Oneco, and Clarno on its way to Monroe, Wisconsin. We’ve walked and biked nearly every foot of it, save the newest section between Clarno and Monroe.

Occasionally we ride our bikes on the trail, but it is more satisfying as a walking path. The pace is slower and sensations stronger when draped in fall color and the bloomin bluebells in early spring.

The local snowmobile club helped construct and maintain this trail, and they've no doubt been itching to have fresh snow to ride on.

We weren’t long down the trail, before hearing a muffled rasp of a sled gliding up from behind. We scurried to the side of the trail to make way for three machines which passed us in short order. Once clear, they opened their throttles and sped away.

These motorini con skis are very powerful and fast. Their silent menacing exhaust note caused me to conjure up a suitable moniker from the past.

While in the Army at Fort Bliss, Texas, I reluctantly traded in my red "67" Alfa Duetto Spider for a 1971 BMW 1600 Sedan. Our beloved Alfa was ill suited to double dating, and we couldn't afford the more powerful and legendary 2002.

In those days, when you gassed up, an attendant filled your tank. As I pulled into a Chevron station, the good old Texan looked over my shiny new Bimmer and proclaimed, "This is what I like to call a whispering bomb."

And so the "whispering bombs" slid past us and disappeared in front of their white vortex. Left to silence, we followed their tracks, and I thought it probable that snowmobiles might coexist with human powered travel.

At last, with only a mile left on our four mile walk, the whispering sleds returned. By the time we reached the trailhead, they were packed up and gone.


To get to the Jane Addams Trailhead, follow US Route 20 a short mile west of the Illinois Route 26 Exit to Freeport. Turn south on Fairview Road. Go to the "tee" and turn right over the hill. The parking lot is on your right.