1.31.23

Last Friday we attempted to get our entire system groomed up in good shape before the weekend, but unfortunately had a machine breakdown on the way up to the Forks turn around, making it so that only half of the nroth section done. After getting the operater rescued and leaving the machine, we returned to town at 1am and met the 2nd machine that had completed the south half of our system with just enough time to get ITS 87 finished of but did not make it out to the Windmills in Mayfield and Kingsbury area.

Saturday evening was spent getting the Windmill section done that was missed, and all of ITS 87 from the Solon Dam and to the Forks turn around.

Sunday we were successful in getting the broke down machine to drive out and was even able to groom on his way back to town, and met our demo groomer that arrived from Prinoth Sunday morning. We took the Prinoth Husky up to the Forks turn around on ITS 87 and just shy of our turn around on the Moxie Mtn loop trail and back to town. We did not get the former Jack Pine Connector that is the reroute of ITS 87 from the Dam, nor the railbed.

Yesterday the demo Husky did half the railbed to test out the machine on the steep hill known as block hill and the rest of ITS 84 to the Iron Gate Rd where we meet the Athens club but unfortunately did not make it all the way to the dam. We are hopeful of being able to get our broke down machine warmed up to be looked at the so we can make a trip to Auburn to get the needed parts and get it back up to par ASAP.

Tonight we will attempt to get another run on our 3 connector trails, (Iron Gate Rd, Lake Rd and Jack Pine Connector) as well as down to the Solon Dam, which may be being done throughout the day on our last deom day with Prinoth.

ITS 87 is still thin in the woods and powerlines but is otherwise in great shape on the roads and riders are reporting satisfaction.

ITS 84 being the railbed and road system is in great shape, as is our club connecting trails.

Kingsbury has been out and connected with nicely groomed trails, but we do need to get another sign at the top of bulldozer hill where we meet them at tower 22. At the moment traveling that direction from town you will only notice 1 arrow that leads you to the Tower 30 lookout, which you can use to get to the Kingsbury system at Tower 32 and continue to make a loop back to the Kingsbury Dam, or peel off sooner to the connection to Breakneck Ridge on the Thanksgiveing Rd. But we need to place a second arrow at the top of bulldozer hill showing that you can go over to Tower 22 and down the Cemetary Rd to get to the Kingsbury Dam more directly and make the loop connection.

Surrounding club information:

Solon has been out and grooming pretty consistantly, but rumor has circulated that there may be some broken connections due to logging when trying to get to ITS 84 through club trail 22 or ITS 113, so riders may need to travel north to the dam and follow ITS 84.

If you havent seen it on our map this year, the trail in the Embden system that will take you to the lake to cross is closed for the season due to logging.

ITS 87 just shy of Pleasant Pond there is a water hole that has been passable to most and troublesome for a few folks. And as far as we know, Pleasant Pond trail is still closed, as is the Palmer Pond Rd in our system to connect, with no clear answer on when they will be done logging so we can open them up, providing a connection to the east of the Deadwater Rd.

We still need some more snow for sure, but the good news is we are finally going to get the ice building cold temps we have needed all season. That being said, this weekend is supposed to be extremely cold, possibly creating record low temps, with a much higher possibility of frostbite present. Ridres are going to need to dress appropriatly with plenty of warm layers and make sure they have no exposed skin if they are out in the elements.

Traffic and weather with most likely play a huge role in our grooming schedule this weekend as we don't want to put our operators in unnecessary situations of danger. We are going to attempt to get everything ready before Friday so that operators are not out Friday night in -20F temps, with wind chills on top of it, but we will plan to try to get back out Sat night. 

2.18.22

Well as of Monday 2.14 the trails were rock hard and fast. We did notice that the inside corners were the worst as it was too hard for the drag to be effective. 2.15.22 we mad a run on ITS 87 to the Dam and Forks turn around and again saw very little improvement, with nothing to really work with. Hence the biggest oissue of the week has been over heating.

Well after yesterdays warm temps and last nights pouring rain, I am happy to say that we were not wiped out and there is still riding to be had. We did definitely take a hit especially in town and wooded sections but roads and railbed still have plenty of coverage. The issue remains that the groomers have little to nothing to work with to remove bumps, and provide lubrication for slides. Riders are going to have to continuously get off the trail to find loose snow to get into their cooling system and ice scratchers are going to be more than highly recommended.

We sent our groomers out today at 12pm, Forks was headed out at 2pm, and last we heard from Jackman was they were possibly going to hit in town tonight, but hold off til tomorrow night before hitting the majority of the system. Wish them all the best of luck and keep your eye open if you are out on the trails.

We will try to provide a full updated trail report tomorrow evening. Most riders today have only said conditions were icy, but no other real complaints from renters and owners other than a few overheating issues.

Ride right and ride safe!

1.29.22

Well we have great news to report. All surrounding clubs (Solon, N. Anson, Kingsbury and the Forks) were out last night layingdown the trails with the new snow. Still hard to get an accurate depth due to all the wind blowing the snow around but we are thinking we got about 8" of fresh fluffy snow. So it didn't set up the best last night, but with any luch a little moisture will help us set up well before the upcoming storms. Right now they are calling for 5-8" Thursday night and again on Friday. Due to the late start of the storm Thursday and warmer temps we most likely will hold off grooming until Friday night, as much as we would like to be out Thursday.

Other than the snow being a little softer than preferred, the trails came out great with the new snow. Obviously our early season work paid off in the arears that were wind swept, but the woods are now in good shape and we have snow to continue to work with and more on the way. Both machines were out last night and each put in 14hrs, allowing our entire system to be groomed out last night.

ITS 87:

Excellent shape, but Chase Pond Rd that was plowed, came out good but is still a little thin, but the Ripple Rd (shared) section came out really well.

ITS 84:

Excellent shape.

All 3 Connectors:

Excellent shape, including up to Tower 1 lookout.

Windmill Trail:

This trail is now in great shape with the new snow. The powerline sections still have a bump or 2 that we need a little more snow and a few more grooming sessions and it will be in excellent shape, but has more than sufficeint coverage now!

Palmer Pond Rd:

Smoke Show!!!

New Hayden Pond Rd:

Open, groomed and in excellent shape connecting the Palmer Pond Rd and the Wind Towers!

It's time folks....get out there and ride!

1.23.21

Well although we held off on grooming Friday night, our trails held up really well considering the traffic this weekend. Solon club was out on Thursday night and the Forks and Kingsbury clubs went out Friday and joined us out again last night. This means we are now connected to all surrounding clubs, though we have yet to see the Lexington Highlands club connect at the bridge in town, and will be looking into that in the coming week.

We do have some changes this week happening that prevented us from grooming ITS 87 north of the Austin Stream Bridge last night. So the job that has been going on preventing the Pleasant Pond trail from being open in the Forks is about to commence, and they are moving down to the Heald Pond Rd that we have been using the last week or so to get north due to operations on the Chase Pond Rd. Therefore as of tomorrow, all traffic traveling north and south between Bingham and the Forks should use the Palmer Pond Rd just past the Austin Stream bridge when traveling north to the Bald Mountain trail and then ITS 86 into the Forks until this weekend when we will reopen ITS 87 at the bridge. At that time we will have to share the Ripple Rd as we did last year to the 4 way, and then will have to follow plowed road we are will do our best to pull snow back onto for about 4mi, then will have about a mile before meeting the start of the Forks system.

Also GREAT NEWS....we got the Windmill Trail opened up last night! There may be a need for some additionl signage, so use extra caution for now, but you can now access the Kingsbury system by the dam and/or travel over the tower 30 lookout and beyond tower 57 to the Breakneck Ridge system! This means first the first time in several years we have our entire trail system open with over 100mi of trails we are maintaining! Thank good we were able to purchase a second machine.

Railbed:

Still in really good shape with plenty of coverage, but could use a little more snow to keep the middle flat with the sides.

ITS 87 north:

As before, the first 8mi or so have great and just fair sections. Roads along this stretch are in good shape but the wooded sections with lots of ledge could use some more snow though most everything is covered up. Once hitting the Sunshine Loop Rd it is pretty smooth sailing to the Deadwater Rd. Again for this week til Friday, riders should go past the Austin Stream Bridge on Deadwater Rd about 200yds and take the first right on the Palmer Pond Rd to get north.

Palmer Pond Rd:

If you have never ridden it before you are definitely going tobe asking yourself why. This trail is a smoke show of a trail for about 10mi or so where we meet the Breakneck Ridge trail system and the Forks trail system on either side of Lake Austin.

Townline Rd/Jw Pinkerton Rd/Rt 16 Crossing:

Great shape and great coverage. Makes and excellent bypass for the thinner spots on ITS 87.

ITS 84/Iron Gate Rd/Heart of Gold/Jack Pine Connector:

All are in great shape with great coverage, provinding lots of flat looping opportunities.....and yes we did groom up to tower 1 lookout as well which has good coverage but a few wind blown icy spots.

We will be evaluating the volume of traffic throughout the week but will plan to have ITS 87 re-opened late Friday night for Saturday morning and the rest of the system touched up as schedules permit.

1.11.22

Well its a late start again this season but our club has been hard at it maintaining accesses and creating some new ones!

12.23.21 we went out for 21hrs to get all the trails packed. Unfortunately we did not go north on ITS 87 of the Austin Stream Bridge at the Deadwater road, as there was no definitive answer to where we were going, and no solid back up plan. The storm back then causing us to go out produced only about 4" in town, but 8" to 10" in places out of town near Deadwater and Iron Gate Rd areas.

Locals riding the trails early reported a positive outcome from our efforts! A nice rock hard base was formed, setting us up nice for upcoming weather good or bad. Unfortunately, we did not get the upcoming storms we were hoping for but mild temps, and light rain, with some flurries mixed in here and there. Suprisingly, out trail system held up quite well. North of the Deadwater rd as of last night did receive another 2" of snow to help out, but no new additional accumlation were found inside 10mi from town.

So everyone wants to know....."Are the trails open?" Well, yes I suppose they are....HOWEVER only the Kingsbury club has connected as of last night up by Austin Pond to access the Breakneck ridge system as we did 2 or 3 years ago.

Good News/Bad News:

Well it looks like the only Wind Tower access we will have this year is that of tower 1-9 near Mahoney Hill or ITS 84. Dues to several logging opertaions scattered througout the winter, we just dont see a window in which we will be able to access the towers by Kingsbury. The good news is, it does appear this has not affected the Iron Gate Rd loop, AND this season it appears we will be able to cross Rt 16 at the Townline/JW Pinkerton Rd to access ITS 87. Townline Rd is only to be used for the first mile coming from Rt 16 and should otherwise nope be ridden to not abuse the priviledge we have been given back for this winter. In the works for next season, we are attemping to get permission and funds will be set aside to build a bypass along side Townline Rd from Rt 16 so that we will only ahve a crossing for future years where they will be hauling and plowing it.

Yes, the railroad bed was plowed for about 500' on 12.24.21 by an abutting landowner. The trail is open, and leftover snowbanks have been removed. We have also signed the trail notifiying riders of an Active Construction Ahead site, so please use caution. Please leave it at that, be respetful, and be thankful that it is open for now.

Railbed is in great shape considering.

ITS 87 north:

Poleline on the edge of town has a nasty water hole before starting up the hill that we just cannot keep full due to the lack of snow. From there to Rt16 crossing the trail is in great shape and freshened up Sat. Once crossing Rt16 it is a little boney with ledge for the next 3 mi or so. The rest of the trail to Heald Pond has a new wooded section dumping you out right at the bridge, a short section that needs some brushing we haven't used for 15yrs, and 2 poleline sections mostly on top of swamp mats with some wet areas and water bars that haven't been covered up yet due to lack of snow. Heald Pond rd to where we meet the Forks is in great shape.

Palmer Pond Rd:

By far our best trail currently with good coverage all the way to Austin Pond where we meet the Forks. FYI....Austin Pond has been open to ice fishing this year. We have had trucks already tearing up the groomed trail which we hope will not be a continuing issue all winter. We have plowed a sizable bank up where trucks are accessing our trail, signing it hoping others will respect our efforts. Kingsbury as I mentioned earlier also connected here last night but neither of us signed it for that trail option, but we will soon. Freshened up last night.

ITS 84:

Mostly on gravel roads and railbed, this trail is in good shape with decent coverage even in the new wooded sectio, starting 2 or so miles from the rail bed when traveling east toward Athens. This section is the ATV trail and part of a piece we used many years ago, that avoids the Pat Cassidy Rd which is being plowed for the winter. Freshening up today.

Jack Pine Connector:

From the top of Mahoney Hill to ITS 87 with trail is in good shape and has good coverage but it a little thin crossing the powerline.

Sunshine Connector to Withee Pond:

This road had a lot of damage prewinter last season most of which was repaired prior to the start of this season, making this trail great again! However after repairs a truck punched one set of tires through a small bridge 3mi from Mahoney Hill. Due to lack of time, swamp pads were placed over it narrowing the trail to 12', but it is marked well and there was enough snow to ramp both sides well avoiding an abrupt bump.

Iron Gate Road:

As of 12.23 this trail had great coverage and was in great shape. We will freshen this up this evening as well.

All and all, the trails are rideable but it is still early season conditoins, producing a variety of hazards, mostly loose and exposed rocks. Riders should use extreme caution if venturing our trails before we get more snow, and expect to ride around, but really go anywhere. High rates of speed are highly NOT recommended yet due to lack of snow!

Ride right, and ride safe!

 

3.4.21

Well day late and a dollar short but here's what we got. Monday night at 630 through Tuesday at 3pm, we sent our only groomer out for a solid 21hrs. Quinten was out for the first 10.5hrs doing ITS 87 in completion, the Jack Pine connector to Mahoney Hill and all the in town trails we groom with the Pisten Bully. When I hopped in the seat, I did ITS 84, Iron Gate Rd, Withee Pond trail back to Mahoney Hill and touched up Tower 1 lookout trail.

In town trails done with pipe drags have yet to be done but should be touched up before the weekend. Dr Dave did make it out in Moscow down to the Bingham General Store and all the way to Wyman Lake doing some touch up and clearing several downed trees from the high winds we received on Mon night in Tues. All of which are clear and in good shape.

Riders should still use caution as trees were being cleared on the first pass Tuesday, with still more to clean up on the return back to town. ITS 87 was clear as of Monday night into Tuesday morning, but there were reports we received of down trees Tuesday night that were cleaned up thanks to Drew Foran. We have not had eyeballs on it since further north of town, nor the Jack Pine connector but assume all is well based on yesterday's traffic, and not hearing from anyone on other potential issues.

The trails came out mint! There is still exvcellent coverage on the majority of our trail system and the cold temps locking up the trails allowed for an excellent consistency to cut as deep as possible and get the trails flat. The reason being riders were smart enough to stay out of the harsh conditions, or turned around quickly so we were able to groom through Tuesday and get them flat with plenty of set up time. That being said the trails are hard and fast with some scratched up duff on top to help with cooling, but ice scratchers are highly recommended through the weekend.

 

ITS 87 South - The railbed is still completely covered...yes really, with snow even and currently minimal to no ice! Flat and Fast.

ITS 87 North - The first 3 miles of trail leaving town are still in fair shape, and get much better once leaving the pole line hill behind the high school all the way to the Rt 16 crossing. From there to Dead Water/Austin Stream bridge is still in good shape with no bare spots yet peaking out, but also not quite enough to hide all the ledging, but none of it is exposed just not ideal. Once crossing the Austin Stream bridge, the trail is in excellent shape to the Forks turn around.

Jack Pine connector - This trail has plenty of coverage and is still in excellent shape!

ITS 84 East - Has really good coverage with the exception of the first 50' from Rt 201. The rest of it all the way to the powerline where we meet Athens is in excellenct shape.

Iron Gate Rd - This trail is an abosulte smoke show right now. Great coverage, flat, and extremely fast. 

Withee Pond - This trail is great from Mahoney Hill 4 way to the end where it meets the Iron Gate and upper Windmill trail.

Windmill Trail - This is surprisingly still in great shape. What I mean by that is the normal problem areas, (the powerline stretches, the steep "bulldozer" hill off the Quarry Rd, and the lookout section at Tower 30 normally blown off) are still all completely covered up as is the back side with no view we are normally having to switch over to at this point in the season

 

Bare in mind that this weekend is most likely going to be extremely busy considering current conditions, the up coming weather, and the fact that it is Reciprocal Weekend. This will bring riders in from NH and VT for the last hoorah! That being said....PLEASE USE EXTREME CAUTION THIS WEEKEND AND STAY ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE TRAIL!!! Although the trails are going to be extremely fast, riders need to take in to account all of the factors to avoid accidents!

Our groomer will be touching up the southern portion of our system tonight so that we can attack ITS 87 Friday night before the weekend starts, and will most likely hit 87 and 84 Sat night but not the connectors. If the weather holds out and permits us to, we will do the northern half of the system Sunday night, and the southern half Monday night.

Enjoy our trails, ride safe, and hope we got another week or two left...but dont count on it.

-Scott N

2.18.21

Well our most recent storm on 2.16 provided us with less than was advertised but we did recieve about 3" in town and 4" out of town. The consistancy was more than of sugar than snow, as most of it came in the form of sleet and ended with a short and light rain. This provided for excellent grooming conditions as the night cooled down allowing us to get ITS 87 locked down and firm. Within a few hours of riding traffic yesterday it began breaking up providing plenty of lubrication, and causing more work for the groomers last night. So ITS87 north of town was done again last night with little sleep for the operator, who will be going out tonight to get the Iron Gate Rd fixed up that needed the most help other than ITS 87 on 2.16.

ITS 87 north is groomed and in excellent shape. (This will not get groomed tonight to catch up on the south end of our system)

ITS 87 south to the Solon dam has good coverage and will get freshened up this evening.

ITS 84 east toward Athens was in good shape 2.16 but is probably showing some bumps after yesterdays traffic. This will be groomed this evening

Iron Gate road has steady rolling bumps until connecting with the Wind Mill trail near the Withee Pond intersection, but will be a top priority this evening.

Lake Rd to Withee Pond past towers 1-11 was in excellent shape on 2.16 but again probably needs some touch up after yesterdays traffic. This will also get a tune up this evening.

The Wind Mill trail that crosses Rt 16 several times was also in excellent shape on 2.16 and seems to be holding up for 2-3 days despite traffic, though we will also get this cleaned up this evening and ready for the weekend, providing good access to Breakneck Ridge trail system and Greenville.

The connector trail closest to town linking Jack Pine trail portion of ITS 87 north of town and ITS 84 at the top of Mahoney Hill should still be in great shape as it sees minimal traffic during the week, and was in excellent shape on 2.16. This will be touched up on Friday evening when we get back on ITS 87 towards the Forks.

Ultimately we are still working with just the 1 groomers for our major trail system and sleds with pipe drags for the Bingham in town trails and access to Wyman Lake through Moscow. So we are doing are very best to work with what we got to provide a pleasant riding experience throughout the busy vacation week that is coming to an end Sunday. Next week starts NH's vacation week, so while we will see a reduction of traffic per usual, we are still expecting plenty of riders in the area.

That being said, be safe, stay on your side of the trail and enjoy our system. And please stop by our shop to become a member of the Valley Riders Snowmobile Club and/or make any donation you can to keep our groomer moving nightly, and help us work towards purchsing a second groomer to make our system even better!

 

 

2.10.21

Well great new! Our full time groomer operater was able to get the layoff he needed just in time for vacation week. What does that mean? Committment to keeping our trails in the best shape possible with 90+ miles of trail and only one machine to do them with.

Last night all the trails to the south were groomed in freezing cold temps setting them up nicely for the weekend. This included ITS 84, Lake Rd to Withee Pond that goes by towers 1- 11, the Iron Gate Rd and the upper tower 22 thru 32 where we connect with Kingsbury Pond.

Tonight we will focus on getting ITS 87 back in great shape, as again freezing cold temps will allow for better processing of the snow. And with some but limited week day traffic currently here we should be in great shape for the weekend.

Once hitting the Ripple Rd on ITS 87 north after crossing the Austin Stream bridge, you will notice the NECEC project have made there way to Moscow if you have not aready noticed. They have allowed us to share the road from the gravel pit up to where the Stream Rd heads to the Radar Site. We do only have about 10' or so to work with, and we are urging riders to respect this road sharing. In the past, road sharing was a huge part of keeping our trails open with no or minimal re-routes, but some riders lack of respect stopped road sharing with the landowners. Please be sure to stay on the groomed marked section, which will obviously help give more life to your carbides.

We do still need some help from anyone that's willing to do some alder brushing on the ditch side to allow the groomer to pull that snow back into the trail, before it freezes so hard that its not usable. We hope before the weekend to also install 6' grade stakes every few hundred yards that was requested to show a clear seperation between trail and plowed road. Please help police anyone running them over, and/or put them back up if you notice them down.

We are anticipating a very busy weekend and 7 days that follow through the vacation week so riders should use extreme caution.

There is more snow in the forcast for Sunday of about 4" and we seem to finally be getting the 1" and light dusting storms the last 2 days that we have been waiting for to help improve conditions.

If you haven't already, please stop into our shop and join the Valley Riders Snowmobile Club. It is only $30 to be a member unless you are already a member of an exisiting club, in which case you can join our as an Associate Member for just $15. They say it takes a village to raise a family, and therefore it must take a community for our sport to continue to flourish.

Thank you for all your support, and we will see you on the trails.

Starting Friday night, our grooming schedule will move to every night for at least 10 days. Some nights we will alternate north and south, while weekendswill focus more on ITS trails, and not as much on club trails. We are happy to hear your feedback on our trails so we can fix things that are missed or just need attention!

2.8.21

Well mother nature is finally shining on us now. After a late start, we received a 12" storm last week that brought riders from everywhere to the Rte 201 corridor. Trails were in great shape for the weekend from Bingham to Jackman, Eustis to Greenville, but were quickly met with heavy traffic causing rougher conditions through the weekend. Groomers are working extremely hard to keep up with good trail conditions, thought a little more snow would certainly help with that battle. We did receive 3" of wet snow last night that did help make a difference, but did not process as well in the drag as it should as the temps drop the next few nights.

Last night we got ITS 87 completely groomed from the Solon Dam to the turn around where we meet the Forks. It appeared they had also been down to meet us. This was also done on Friday night.

Saturday night ITS 84 to the powerline on Mahoney Hill where we meet Athens was done, the Lake Rd connector trail to Withee Pond then out to the wind towers was completed....and great news Kingsbury Offgrid Groomers was finally able to connect with us as well allowing access to Abbot, Breakneck Ridge and Greenville! With what fuel and time was left, the connector closest to town that links ITS 87 (the Jack Pine section) and ITS 84 (on Mahoney Hill) was also completed.

Throughout the weekend, riders were reporting that our trails were in the best shape anywhere they had been considering the amount of traffic on the trail. Our plan for now is to hold off til the the weekend unless more snow gets here before then. So the only thing trail that did get packed frm the strom, but not groomed after the weekend traffic was the Iron Gate Rd.

Keep doing your snow dances, and maybe we will be riding through April!

1.20.21

Well the first trail report of the year is not the greatest considering the late start, but the good news is all clubs from Bingham to the border have been packed at the very least, with minimal "grooming" in the places with enough depth and traffic to warrant it.

Here in Bingham we have about 4" of snow and 10"-12" out of town in higher elevations. The snow we received was a very heavy, dense, wet snow that made for great packing and base development. With cold temps right behind the storm, most trails locked right up pretty solid and with more cold days and nights ahead, we are in good shape if we need to wait a little bit for the next batch of snow.

One local rider came in a few minutes ago reporting today's ride to 15 Mile Stream for lunch just north of the Forks from in town Bingham. He said ultimately they had a good time but we need more snow. Logging roads are in great shape. They are firm but over heating did not seem to be an issue out of town, but in town was another story for 7mi or so on either side of town, and the trails are a little icy in both areas.

 

1.16.21

We left around 6pm to pack ITS 87 north and the club connector to Mahoney Hill 5mi out of town before Rt 16. The warm temps and rain from midnight through 2am did not help us at all, but the trails came out pretty decent minus few windrows and spots the drag slid off the trail, pushing some snow off to the side and creating a crown is somw sections. All remaining trees were removed from blocking the trails or creating unsafe conditions, but some shield scratches still need to be trimmed in places....feel free to help us out with those if you can, otherwise we will be working on those throughout the next several grooms.

ITS 87 north is very thin with a fair amount of dirt mixed in for the first 3mi out of town. Then gets pretty good for the next 3 to 4 mi to Rt 16. Once crossing Rt 16 to the "Jack Pine" trail, the condtions a reported to be better than I thought they were but boney and slow going until you hit the Sunshine loop off Town Line Rd. From there minus the old water bar conditions are great all the way to where we meet Northern Outdoor on the Chase pond road. That old water bar before Dead Water is pretty well covered up except for a chuck of ledge about 40' up the start of the hill. Ripple Rd by the radar site and on to the Chase Pond road to our turn around however is a smoke show.

 

1.17.21

Headed out at 5pm with cooler temps and a little snow squal. This night we packed the remainer of thr trail system, and it went a little smoother, other than having to fix ruts created by truck in 2 or 3 sections. We were even able to do a little cutting in some places to begin smoothing out the trail system.

ITS 84 came out really good though there is a washout section just starting up the Frank Savage rd after crossing Rt 201 impacting the edge of the trail. Mahoney Hill is in great shape all the way to the powerline where we meet the Athens Club.

Iron Gate rd came out great all the way back to the Withee Pond, T Rd, Wind Mill trail intersetion, with only a small washout mostley filled in right after turning off the Iron Gate rd and heading back up the mountain to the intersection. Trail has good coverage and should be flat and fast. Once starting on the Wind Mill trail after crossing Rt 16 for the first time, the power line sections are very thin, making them rough and exposing more rocks than is preferrable, but safely passable at the same time. Once your on the Quarry Rt headed into the upper towers you will be in good shape til the steep section we call "Bull dozer hill" which is a little rough and thin until you reach the top. We groomed down to the Cemetary Rd where we meet Kingsbury in Mayfield which came out great, all the way to tower 32 which came out good but was thin in some spots and bare on the top at tower 30, and we also did the loop around the back side where there is now view, but pops you out between tower 31 and 32 bypassing the bare spot and has much better coverage. At tower 32 is also where we meet Kingsbury. Thus far we have not seen them come through and may not this season. I am waiting to hear back from there President as he had left me a voicemail several weeks ago that the last big rain storm wiped them out in 3 different sections and he was not sure about what if any grooming they would be able to do. Let's keep our fingers crossed for them and hope for the best outcome.

The Withee Pond trail section back to the Mahoney Hill 4 way intersection is in pretty good shape coverage wise, though there is a fairly significant washout out affecting the side of the trail by the tower 1 turn. This has been marked off but could cause major issues if riders are not paying attention at high rates of speed.

The rail road bed in town (ITS 87 south) is very thin and icy. It may cause some overheating issues if conditions stay frim but it is pretty well covered up

 

1.18.21

This night was a repeat of the 16th doing ITS 87 north and the club connector closest to town. Again very thin and dirty for the first 3 or 4 miles and then gets better though Jack Pine is a little rough as we need more snow, it did come out better than we imagined according to riders. We were able to do some more cutting allowing us to somewhat soften the rock hard base created from the 16th, fill some holes, and pull everything back in the trail.

 

Please keep in mind it is still early riding conditions with some hazards to be aware and cautious of. So yes the trails are open but destinations and condtions are still a little tricky and fine details on signage are also being finalized. So be careful if you are out riding and remember we are just getting started so be patient, have some fun and help the club if you can with those pescky whip branches that still need to be trimmed.