Conditions still marginal

It has been snowing for the past week, but only light flurries on most days.  Our trail system has a trace to 10" of snow with little to no base.  As usual, trails in higher elevations have the most snow, and there is still grass showing in the lower elevations.  Not many sleds have been out and there has been no grooming activity since January.  It is what it is....

Some riding available....

Despite cold weather and daily "snow showers", trails in higher elevations such as Hammond Hill and Virgil only have up to 9" of fluff.  Lower elevations like Dryden and Caroline have 1-3" with grass blades still showing on many lawns and fields.  There is no base anywhere, so it is rocky and rough.  Diehards, not willing/able to trailer north to Tug Hill (where there are feet of fresh snow) could trailer to HH or Virgil and get some local miles, but we don't recommend it.  The 10-day forecast is showing a warming trend (upper 30's), so it does not look good for us for a while.

Not enough snow...

We got 6-10” (depending on elevation) on Friday night.  There is enough to ride, but it isn’t great.  We need a lot more snow in order to get the groomers out.  Unfortunately it is supposed to get up to 40F and rain tomorrow.

Trails still closed

It is cold, but with only a dusting to 2" on the ground we need to respect land owners wishes and stay off the trails until conditions improve.

Water holes and Trees down

We are still trying to figure out how to get the groomer across this (pictured) nasty water hole and over towards Groton and Cortland.  Sleds have been going a bit west of this location and are able to get through, but the hill is too steep for the groomer.

Anyone that is out riding and has access to a chainsaw, please clear any trees that you see on the trails.  This will help keep the groomers moving.  It is very slow going if the groomer operator has to stop and open the trail up.  Keep in mind that the groomer is 12' tall and 9' wide.  Thanks for any help you can provide and keep track of the people, hours and equipment used for the funding paperwork.

Groomers out today

The groomer operators are back in town and we have enough snow to groom. There are some trail issues to be aware of: 1. The bridge north of the VFW on 2C has a very large mud/water hole and has become impassable. We will be working on this today. 2. The field south of the VFW still has corn and people are running to the west of it. Please head east around the corn. This will avoid being near the landowner's house and bales of hay 3. Trail 25b in Slaterville has little to no signage. To get gas, go up the hill (north of Rt 79) and then back down the hill entering from the back of the gas station. Please do not ride sleds up the sidewalk or on the road on Rt 79. 4. At the top of Tehan (signal tower) is junction TK21 which used to pick up S25B. This is now groomer access only. The new S25B goes thru Dusenberry and picks up the original S25B at the bridge near Midline and Cornelius Rd.

Trails open Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Conditions permitting, trails will open after dark on the last day of muzzleloader season.