Zorra-Now-Winter2023

TOWNSHIP DEPARTMENT INFORMATION 24 Zorra Now | Winter 2023 Cross-country skiing draws to a close at Windy Hill Farm More than 20 years of Zorra Township cross- country skiing tradition came to an end in the spring of 2023 as Pete Baldwin and his trail- grooming team made the difficult decision to cease maintaining a network of trails on his 27th Line farm that had provided both a training ground for top-level athletes and a local venue for recreational skiers since the early 1990s. “It’s going to seem weird not having the trails and not having folks pulling in the lane after we get that first good snowfall,” Baldwin said in a recent interview. “But over the last few years, we just haven’t had enough snow to make it worthwhile.” Baldwin first started making recreational trails at Windy Hill Farm in 1984 – around the same time as he put in the first plantation of hillside trees on the 190-acre property, in a part of the former dairy farm that had been used for pasture and hay. He eventually planted about 70 acres of trees, to go along with some existing hardwood woodlot. The Baldwin family were avid downhill skiers, with all three of Pete and his late wife Marge’s kids spending time working at the nearby Ski- Hi facility. But Colin, his youngest son, decided one year that he wanted to try nordic skiing and announced that participating in the annual Wildwood Loppet would be a good place to start. The Wildwood Polecats had formed as a provincially and nationally-sanctioned nordic ski club based at Wildwood Conservation Area during the half-dozen years that the 25-kilometre Wildwood Loppet was held there. It was a volunteer-run event but eventually attracted some higher-level participants for its around-the-lake course. Pete declared he would join Colin. He had read that top-level cross-country skiers boasted a lower resting heart rate, on average, than any other elite athletes. He figured this would be a good athletic pursuit to take up. Pete had been a competitive cross-country runner in his youth, including as a member of the varsity team at what was then known as the University of Western Ontario in London. He had also played football at Medway High School and, later, spent many evenings playing recreational men’s soccer in Woodstock and London. When Colin and Pete arrived on that late 1980s January day to participate in the Loppet, “we didn’t know there were going to be serious racers there.” These racers took off from the start line and left the Baldwins – along with the other novices and newcomers – in their wake. It was, he remembers, humbling for both father and son. “It was much harder than we thought. In the end, it just turned into ‘do whatever you thought you had to do to finish.’ I think we almost died!” The trail network was used on a members-only basis by members of the Wildwood Polecats club. Inconsistent snow conditions led to the difficult decision to stop maintaining the trails this winter. Wildwood Polecats community recognizes efforts of Pete Baldwin, Steve and Cobi Sauder By Stew Slater