Sunday, January 8, 2012

8Jan P16-P19, 55, 54

I've always been a big fan of trail 50 and for the last few years consistently disappointed by the grooming.  Unfortunately today was no different.  For some reason the fantastic grooming we saw yesterday was not duplicated in this part of the park. 

One can still ski on the trail and have a great time.  There is some debris in the skate lane and the classic tracks but not so much as to be a real problem.  Today it was pretty fast and firm.  Some might think it is too firm in the skate lane because of the snowmobile traffic (in some areas this has resulted in a kind of trench down the middle of the trail).

From the campground to P19 the trail is on a road yet for some reason the grooming (except for a short stretch) is not nearly as nice as on the parkway system.  I almost wonder if this is because construction equipment is brought in during the week to work on the section that has been washed away?

Trail 55 out to Taylor lake is similar.  It is very skiable but I wonder why a trail on a road can't be flat? 

54 is a real work in progress although no fault of Demsis.  A couple of sections have been washed away and with the usual icy sections on the downhills extreme caution is required particularly as you approach the hay bails on the way down.  (At one point I just walked.)

I am now used to the weak grooming in this part of the park and thus lower my expectations.  Its still a great trail and I am often surprised how little traffic there is between Herridge and the campground.  I would think that those on classic skis would enjoy this trail more than those skating.

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