November 30, 2019 Grooming Report
Trail crews have been hard at it each night. As you can see, this is slow going. If you are interested in helping clear trails let us know so we can coordinate efforts.
Crews opened up another “k” of trail so the turn around spot is now at the 15k mark. The Noque and Animoosh are groomed and tracked to that point. Pole plants are soft after the 12k mark. Remember to ware orange today during the last day of rifle deer hunting season.
Equipment and Facilities Update: If you have been to Forestville for the early November skiing you will have seen lots going on. We are expanding the trail head and will be done soon. We plan to be open before Christmas. New grooming equipment has been purchased for both skiing and snow bike grooming. We will detail equipment and trail head facilities over the next few weeks.
Way Too Long Grooming Report: I do hope you got out yesterday. It was magical. An inch of fresh snow fell after grooming so your skis slid along as if on silk. The trees are still coated with snow. Trees are rarely so completely coated. Typically you will see one side or the other with bare spots. With calm air and fresh snow under foot, it was mesmerizing. I was reminded of an exhibit at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. In one of the large exhibition buildings there was an area with thick fuzzy acoustic walls. As soon as you walked into that area the din of the giant hall disappeared. All you could hear yesterday was (labored) breathing.
NON-GROOMING INFORMATION: I like to start with the trunk followed by an ear. Then one typically takes on a shoulder and next a leg. Before you know it you have eaten an elephant. So, don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done. A couple of decades ago a small group of young people set about to make Marquette County a year round silent sports destination. Mountain biking was only on old two tracks or deer trails and cross country skiing was ungroomed. One put on ski boots in the car and trail access was in jeopardy because there was no organized silent sport voice.
Fast forward 20 years to find over 65 miles of single track, 35 miles of snow bike125k of Nordic ski trails. NTN works with land owners, governmental units and the community to license, build, sign, insure and groom these trails. We have grooming equipment, trail head facilities and an organization that is a positive force in the community.
Members, sponsors, volunteers and staff should be proud of what has been accomplished and what you are doing.
To learn more about the NTN, to join, volunteer, become a sponsor or make a comment, please visit www.noquetrails.org .
Sondo