Trail Conditions: Fair
Snow Cover: 3-6
Date of Report: February 8, 2022
Area Report:
Hello Riding Friends!
It is that time of year and the cool temps have caused some maintenance issues as well as some volunteers down with health issues so this last week many volunteers and machines were stretched thin and clubs were sharing, because Sawyer Counties team work is awesome they are able and willing to transport machines! Many repairs have been going on since Sunday and a couple of those units are back up and running or will be today/tomorrow. Also, a few new volunteers were in the groomers this weekend volunteering their time and learning the ropes. And, not to sound like a broken record but thank you again to this group of volunteers!!
Groomers were back out Sunday and Monday and have started grooming things back up after the crazy weekend. They will continue their grooming scheduled throughout the week. They are working with what we have and doing a fine job at that.
The forecast shows some warmer weather this week, around the 30 degree mark, which is hopefully good because with those temps sometimes Mother Nature brings snow. Snow is in the forecast starting tonight with a bit (hoping around an inch), snow forecasted also for Wednesday, Thursday (1-3″, 80%) and Friday. All of that little bit accumulates to we will take it! We did get a bit this Sunday, some areas only about 1/2″ and others such as in the north about 2″. So hopefully those temps are just warm enough to give us some fresh snow and then they will drop again to the singles and teens through the weekend with negatives in the night and set and preserve that new snow. Do your snow dance!
The overall consensus from all groomers, clubs and riders are that most of the areas from the south east corner to the north are all rideable and in fair to good condition. Some areas will no doubt be better than others and some poorer than others. There are thin and icy spots and some gravel coming through, mostly on the heavily traveled main trails. The more protected, wooded trails are better riding. The lakes are also really good! The warm weather can create some moguls on the lakes closer to the stakes where traffic is heavier, not much can be done other than moving back from the stakes a bit while still staying on trail. But overall the lake trails are great! Many trails are hard packed and with that you can find some overheating, many factors can go into overheating, size of the rider, style of riding, lack of ice scratchers and finding that snow for lubrication. If you find this as a concern be sure to get into a bit of the loose snow (while staying on the trail) to help you cool down.
All in all trails are getting thin but holding up and rideable with fair to good ranges. A lot can happen with even just a small about of snow so fingers crossed for some good fortune! We will update closer to the weekend as we watch the weather.