Check out Saux Head at dusk on the 7th!
Forestville Trails:
The Trail head will be staffed and open starting this Friday!
Andy roll packed the Noque to 510 including the Mead by pass. The new section of the Mead by pass is rough and the hills are steep. I would say the steep hills on that section are not skiable. Take care on all down hills (and there are a lot of them on the Noque from 19k to 510 as well as on the, so called, Mead by pass section).
Trails are well covered and the base is firming up but it is still early season conditions. The surface is somewhat uneven where the underlying ground is uneven. Take care on the down hills but try to avoid sliding all the snow off the trail. Hop turns or quick stem turns harm the trail far less than the dreaded snow plow. Or, as the single track bike trail signs claim, “Skids are for squids”. Of course, I don’t know what that means but the alliteration works and we get the gist.
Speaking of snow plows, the big parking lot is plowed and open for use. The road up to the trail head is snow covered and slippery. Take care. Rear wheel drive vehicles may have issues in these conditions. Let us know if you find this problematic. We do have sanding in the budget and apply as needed but it is quite expensive.
Saux Head Trails: Saux Head was rolled on Monday. Here is another picture from the 7th at Saux Head. Note Katie’s head lamp and the dusk colored sky. Katie commented, “I classic-skied the entire outer loop at Saux Head last night, and it was wonderful (especially with Venus over the crescent moon and a sky full of stars overhead)! Excited to get back out when tracks are set, too!”.
Her head lamp story brought me back a few years. I remember it was one of those special nights. The air was light and snow was falling. There were several inches of fresh snow on the trails and trees so it was silent. I was skiing alone going clockwise up the long hill at the southern end of the system. At 9:00 PM Saux Head is both dark and empty. Sharks don’t keep me out of the surf so what is to be afraid of in the woods at night? Going up the long hill, I doused my headlamp and listened to the silence. Then, suddenly, out of the darkness, a shadow jumped out behind me and let out a growling scream. Once I regained my faculties, the young man apologized to me. He said, “Sorry, I thought you were my buddy and I wanted to scare you.”. Well, he got that half right. The night sky is jet black and the stars/planets are close enough to touch. Looking out over Saux Head with your lamp off is mesmerizing. In any case, I recommend headlamp skiing anywhere but at Saux Head in particular
Fit Strip: Neil rolled the trails Monday but reported it was still quite thin. If you do get out let us know what you think.
See you out there,
Sondo