I started this diary or Blog for people who missed my emails, and who wanted a more tangible and vivid way, to know what is happening with Cross Country Skiing, in our area, and what we are up to. There are a lot of places to ski, and this log tells you of where and how we are skiing. It can help you to see what the skiing is like in our general area. We hope they are informative and a little entertaining too.
MOE AND I OUT FOR A SKI
3/20/08 - I haven't been writing much lately, but we have been skiing, and I bet it will be good skiing for weeks to come. The weeks have followed the same pattern for a month. Great Monday and Tuesday of spring skiing. Then Wednesday we would get a storm, and it would get wet for a day or 2. Friday would be a nice day, and then at night it would storm into Saturday. Sunday would be a nicer day, but windy or showery.
The skiing has been a little of everything too. Last week we skied powder on one day, wet powder the next, Frozen snow the next, then frozen granular. The next day was wet granular that you could ski on groomed areas, and finally the next day you could ski the wet granular anywhere. That is New England skiing at its best. The weather and the snow change every time you turn around, and even the same trail skis totally differently each time your on it when the weather and snow are doing this. When you can ski the crust like we can many days now it is a blast. Just go where ever you want. We even did this with skating skis this week and it was a blast. Spring is here, and spring skiing is going to last for a long time this year. Awesome!
2/15/08 - The skiing early in the week was great, but now we are only snowshoeing our home trails. I tried to break up the thick crust that came after Tuesday's storm which started with 8 inches of snow, and was followed by 2 inches of rain, but the groomer that we have at home just can't handle this stuff. I was able to break through it at Dexter's Inn, so tomorrow I should be able to get the trails in pretty good shape.
We had some great days of skiing all the trails last week, and we topped it of by telemarking the fields and the steeps by headlamp. It is amazing to try to move at night on the snow while going fast enough to tele turn. It makes for some real excitement, and a few close calls with falling.
One of the things that we have been seeing a lot is bloody deer tracks. We think the crust might be cutting them. We haven't seen any sign of coyotes, so we assume that it is injury from the ice and not an attack. It also doesn't seem to be that much blood, and it seems to be more constant, like something that keeps getting opened up. We would like to see the warm weather come and get rid of the crust, and just leave some nice spring conditions soon. If not just to compact what is here and cover it with a good snow storm.
1/28/08 - We have had a couple of interesting skis lately. The most memorable have been involving wildlife. We have seen some things that are not common fair around here. First it is very unusually to see some animals or even their tracks in the snow. We are often skiing along and Snowy will alert us to the presence of something that we just don't see or sense. Amazingly this varies from areas where voles or other animals are burrowing under the snow, to moose or deer on the move or trying to avoid detection, rabbits, birds, to the sound of running water or just faint smells of sounds that we would just miss without her cueing us in.
After the big January thaw we have water moving under ground and under the snow pack. There is one spot where a constant flow is babbling under the trail, and it is weird when you com along this area that looks just like the rest of the area around it, with no visible signs of water, and yet you here a stream running.
Another recent ski following a small snowfall found snowy agitated and smelling some tracks and the base of a tree. After inspecting the tracks we saw it became clear that she had stumbled onto a Bobcat's trail. The tracks were fresh, but no animal was found. I have only seen Bobcats a few times around here, and never this time of year. We will see if we come upon it in our future ventures.
The most exciting sighting may be something that is not that unusual, but in a way it is. Deer tend to yard up into herds this time of year. We see small groups of 4 to 10 deer on a fairly regular basis. What we stumbled across last week was amazing, and something that I have only seen a few times in my life, and only once before in this area of this state. We crested a hill on a trail with a full view of the trail ahead for 75 yards. Snowy was just ahead of us and acting interested in something. She bolted forward, so I yelled and as we looked forward a herd of 30 plus deer went charging by. Snowy responded to our calls and came back, and the deer thundered along for a few more seconds and then stopped. We could see glimpses of them, but decided not to further harass them.
The reason we are see more including where animals are bedding down at night, such as our resident moose, is 2 things: The fact that we had logging done, and the animals are finding it easier to move about a larger range of the property, and we secondly, we are using our Alpina Lite-terrain skis and backcountry boots to get out into the woods more. I am not a fan of large scale logging, and we always saw logging with a very negative slant. It is easy to see what can and does go wrong with logging, especially when it is done poorly. What we miss is what it can do If well done. The re-generation of the forest starts almost instantaneously. The trails and areas that are thinned allow for animals to diversify, species to grab a hold that were struggling. NH has changed over the past several hundred years, and what has been lost as a percentage is open area without trees. When areas thinned or small field created you see a change, but also a diversity is created which was there, but not in a strong way. It will be interested to see the change over the coming years.
1/11/08 - We have been skiing most days or nights, and it has been great. Up until last weekend we had powder snow, and amazing weather; cold and crisp. The fun was skiing up the hills and then telemarking down in all that powder. In places it was 4 feet deep.
I haven't been writing much because we have been too busy with plowing and working at Dexter's Inn to steal away any time to write. I usually write when something remarkable has happened, and I guess this time that is the snow pack shrinking fast. The 4 feet of snow is now more a foot to 18 inches with bare spots and rivers running through in spots. The skiing is like late spring. There are great spots and terrible areas. Over all if you like to ski it is a blast. The hills are fast and the snow is now corn, so with speed you just float on top. It sounds like we are going to have rain and then a slow cool down with a couple of chances for snow in the week to come. That means the snow should drain, and then a little snow on top would be a welcomed addition.
Skiing this stuff is fun if you use the right technique. Keep your weight on your heels, so you float your ski tips. Don't sit back though. Keep your forward body position, so you can still have good skiing mechanics. Plan where you will ski, and look at your route before you start to see any wet spots, obstacles, and to see if there are areas of sun and shade. Sunny areas are soft and wet; you break through more. Shaded spots are hard, icy and can also break through, but with that you often have more of a crash through than a slice. That can mean a fast and unplanned stop. It can be a great time to ski, and when it all warms up to just above freezing that is the time to head out.
12/16/07 - I just haven't had the time to write lately. This time of year is so busy that I don't have the time, but I have had the time to ski a little most days. The skiing now is as good as the best day from any of the last 3 years. Our trails at home are a mess, but Dexter's Inn is looking awesome. There hasn't been too much excitement other than just skiing at the end of a very hard day's work. The deep snow cover is making even our rough trails that we didn't clean up yet seem smooth. The fields are a telemarking paradise. The most exciting prospect is that this could keep up until April. Have we had really good spring skiing in recent years? Clouds and being over tired kept me in during the height of the meteor shower this week, but I did get to ski and see one shooting star the other night. The moon was just a waning sliver that set early, so the sky was dark, the air was crisp and cold, and the snow like silk. You can't beat that.
I guess that the thing that I learn more each time that I ski is that the right equipment can really be a plus, and that if you want to enjoy yourself; you will. We have big wide touring skis, Alpina Excites, and they are great in this weather. They float along, and are good in groomed and ungroomed snow. They aren't fast, but it is so much fun to be on a ski that works well. I think racers and ex racers forget that touring skis are built for the conditions, and the only reason to ski isn't just to go fast. I just love to be out in the forest, and gliding along is such a blast. Slowing down, making time to get out, and enjoying the experience is a great way to relax, get exercise, and it may not all be in your head, but a lot of it is. Enjoying winter is easy if you are comfortable and set up to enjoy it.
12/4/07 - Didn't get out today, but I did groom a little at Dexter's Inn. There is a good 10 inches of snow, but it compacts to about 1 to 2 inches, so it is a little thin to open up to the public. There are a couple kilometers in fields and in the woods by the Inn that John and Penny could have open this weekend, so call them if you are interested. 763-5571
The reason for this entry is the YTS Ginzu groomer that the Augustine's bought for the Inn: It is great. It makes wonderful corduroy, and pulled with ease. I can't wait to see what it can do throughout the season, but if first impressions mean anything, and I think they do, this thing is awesome.