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Forestville: Trails didn’t set up until it was too late to groom. Yesterday’s thaw will have glazed most trails. Last night’s hard freeze will have morning trails icy and rough. Helmets recommended before 9: 20 when above freezing temperatures will have taken effect. Good skiing will be had then until early afternoon when things will get sloppy. Two days and over night very warm temperatures with wind will take a toll on the base. We may see some exposed sections or under hemlock trees showing bare spots later in the week.
Fit Strip: We groomed the lighted loop last Thursday. There is ice in the sunny spots and a bit of dirt in the hemlocks.
Big Bay Pathway: The Big Bay Pathway was groomed last Thursday. Don’t know how many more times we can groom.
Boe😎👍👍🇧🇻🇧🇻🇧🇻🇧🇻
Saux Head: Yesterday’s thaw may have left us with some icy ruts. Let us know if you have first hand information.
Snow Bike Trails:
NORTH TRAILS
Trail Conditions Highly Variable.
Sunny afternoon skies created freeze thaw conditions. Trail surface ranges from perfect hard packed snow to bare ground with stretches of icy glazed snow and sheet ice thrown in.
Trails at lower elevations and along the river where the base was shallower most affected.
Blue Heron Trail from the river up to the dam is very icy and treacherous, probably best avoided by those without crampons or studs.
Collinsville, Peter’s Sandbox, SilverLead and Wildcat in overall very good shape with limited icy areas.
Use caution
South Trails Grooming: I expect variable conditions similar to the comments above on the North Trails.
Way Too Long Grooming Report
Where When is Goldie Locks now? With overnight temperatures in the low 20s heading to a high of 50 the window will be short. The smart money is betting on an opening as early as 9:20 and it may close as early as 12:18. It’s not just for skiing you know. Of course I am likely the only one without a set of studded fat bike tires so the rest of you can go as early as you want. If you too are what is called, a poor relation, you may also still be lobbying for studded tires. Now, if you are thinking, quit whining, how much can a couple of bike tires cost, it is really not the tires that set you back. Sure, you could swap out the rubber on a given day but it’s not going to happen. So, just like snow tires for your car, you need them mounted on rims. Unless you have some supped up car, a set of snow bike studs are expensive compared to your car. So, today may be the day you set the process in motion. I remember when good head lamps were expensive. I parlayed a few broken spinous process bones and a compression fracture into one of the top end Nite Rider head lamps. Never let an injury go to waste. The trick is to avoid those special kind of injuries, you know, life altering. One way is to use other’s. If you can catch them soon enough after the event, seeing a person limping and bandaged helps. Otherwise, compensating an accomplice to bring up the story is often an option. The punch line is always something like, “what’s $500 or $600 when compared to even one trip to the ER?”. Good luck with that. I’ll be the one waiting until trails soften a bit.
Sondo