CURRENT TRAIL REPORT CONDITIONS & OPENINGS

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. 

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!

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!

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!

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.