I headed out for a ride hitting some St. Germain, Sayner and Eagle River trails. All the trails I rode had been groomed. Temps dropped to -18 so trails were packed in tight this morning. Most corners had snow pulled back onto them so hardly scraped anywhere. There were a few bumps out there but not many. Some heavily traveled trails have snirt mixing in so they have a brownish color. Be careful of branches that have fallen on trails with all the snow and ice on them. Trails are definitely in the best condition they have been all season. Get out and ride and enjoy the nice trails.
Now that there’s plenty of snow on the trails what you see will depend on when the trail was last groomed and how much traffic has been on it since then. More traffic will lead to more bumps and pushed out, icy corners. Less traffic will mean smoother trails. As the trails get groomed more times it should help to pack in the snow making it better each time.
Lakes are bumpy from drifting snow and there’s slush coming up in spots – especially off the marked trails.
Just a comment or two on some safety issues. 5 sledders died recently in WI. Two of them were hit by vehicles on state highways. We’re not sure what happened but lets use this as a reminder that whether you ride fast, slow or in between, stop signs mean stop and look both ways before crossing a road or driveway. Also, with all the snow we’ve gotten there’s a lot of high snowbanks limiting visibility for vehicles pulling out of driveways or roadways. So if you’re on a plowed road trail slow down and be aware someone pulling out might not be able to see you coming.
