Starting 2022 on the right foot: Minneopa group braves cold for new year hike
Jan. 2—A group of hikers at Minneopa State Park didn't let sub-zero temperatures stop them from spending New Year's Day morning in nature Saturday.
Led by Minneopa naturalist Scott Kudelka, they bundled up and got moving down a trail. It was Minneopa's 10th "First Day Hike," a chance for people to get outdoors and rejuvenate themselves for the year ahead.
Kudelka has seen lower temperatures on hikes in past years, but thought Saturday probably had the coldest wind chill yet.
The temperature when the hike set off around 10 a.m. was -10 degrees in Mankato, according to the National Weather Service. Wind chills made it feel closer to -30 degrees. The hike stuck to a wooded path away from the windier prairie area.
Given the robust group of people who love coming to Minneopa for programs, Kudelka wasn't surprised more than 30 people showed up to brave the cold.
"It's a good way to celebrate a new year," he said. "For us it's about getting people outdoors, so we start the first of the year saying, 'Here we are; let's do this.'"
When asked why he wanted to spend the first morning of 2022 out in the elements, hiker Dan Ploog of North Mankato laughed and answered "Why not?" Ploog was there with a group from Cub Scout Pack 98 in North Mankato.
"As Cub Scouts we promote going outdoors in nature, so even on the toughest of the tough cold days we're outside," he said. "We're Minnesotans."
In true Minnesotan fashion, he planned to go home and watch hockey later. The Minnesota Wild played the Winter Classic outdoor game Saturday evening at Target Field in Minneapolis.
Although most of the group was from the Mankato area, Jeremy Kruse was in town from the Chicago area visiting his wife's family. The actor, writer and filmmaker had gone from 60-degree temps in Arizona on Thursday to about 35 degrees in Chicago on Friday to Saturday's frigid conditions in Mankato.
The gradually colder climates must've helped Kruse acclimate, joked his father-in-law, Tom Weigt.
Weigt is a volunteer with Friends of Minneopa, a group well represented on the hike.
Staying active outdoors even during cold months is important, Weigt and Kruse agreed. It helps clear the head and relieves stress.
After the roughly 1-mile hike ended, fellow hiker Judy Beahm of Mankato came over to say hello to Weigt. Back on Thanksgiving morning, a much warmer day, they went on a group run at Minneopa.
She and Carol Marston were first-timers at the First Day Hike. They said they would've been up for an even longer hike.
"We like the challenge," Beahm said. "We're hearty Minnesotans."
Minneopa was one of three state parks in Minnesota to hold First Day Hikes on Saturday. Two others got canceled.
Kudelka saw 97 people come to his Minneopa hike in 2020. As a lover of winter, cold weather doesn't faze him much, but considering the conditions, he said, having 34 hikers on Saturday was great to see.
For Tim Pulis, another Friend of Minneopa member who volunteers as a bison ambassador at the park, embracing the cold weather with a hike just felt like a fitting way to start 2022.
"It's a cool tradition to get out here," he said. "It makes you feel like a real Minnesotan on a day like this."
The park has more recreational opportunities for winter lovers coming up this month. A beginner snowshoe hike is set for Jan. 8, followed by a candlelight event on Jan. 15.
Follow Brian Arola @BrianArola
