Snow Cover: 1 to 2 avg on the trail
Date of Report: December 26, 2016
Area Report:
This will be a bad news / good news type of report. 1st – the bad news. The area received sleet, freezing rain, and rain overnight. The temps this morning rose to 38. To give you an example – I have a table on my deck that had about 13.5 inches of snow on it yesterday. This morning, as a result of the rain, it is down to 6.5.
What snow we had before to work with was pretty dry. Not what you need or want to form a really good base or fill holes and ruts. The good news is; the rain we got will be a blessing in disguise. This is because the temps are dropping again. Tomorrow’s high is forecasted to be 14. Once this all freezes down, as long as there isn’t much traffic today, will form a nice & hard crusty base. Even better news yet is that we are supposed to be getting snow on Thursday. This on top of the new crusty base will make the trails decent again. We will need closer to 3 inches for the trails to be good but if we get 3 inches – they will be batter than before last night’s storm. As with before – there was more snow the further north you go – giving the groomers more to work with. We are doing the best we can with what there is.
Some lakes have been marked and many have not. If you come up to one and don’t see markers – turn around – do NOT cross no matter how many tracks you might see! Just because you saw one marked and crossed – don’t assume they are all safe. Ice thickness is varying greatly. The ice was measured recently out in front of Patti’s Murmuring Waters on Lost Lake and there was only 3 inches.
We still have logging going on in a few areas of our system. The operations can start or stop without notification. Even when the processors move out – trucks will still be hailing out loads of logs. Watch for logging ahead signs, logging trucks, and logging equipment. PLEASE DO NOT hassle the loggers. If they get hassled – they have the right to shut that section of trail down. PLEASE BE PATIENT and stay out of their way. Watch for signals from the loggers and follow them. They might tell you to please wait or to go around.
Please ride safe! Slow down and ride another day!!!
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