Sunday 27 September 2015

NEW TRAIL CONNECTIONS FOR 2015/2016 SKI SEASON

I've just received approval from the Taoist Tai Chi Society for a couple of new trail sections. They are the owners of the property immediately north of the 5 Sideroad.
A new link will be added starting at the south junction of Mainline and Harmony, heading west and then north to connect with Around the Pines. This section will pass through a pine plantation and will have very gentle hills on it. Another short link will extend Gazebo trail southerly to connect with the first one. This will feature a short, steep hill for those who want to add a little excitement to their outing.
It is hoped that these 2 new links will help to reduce conflicts with the maple syrup operation in the later part of the winter.

Monday 14 September 2015

Starting work for the winter of 2015/16

After a summer away from the trails, I've begun my preparation for the coming winter. Over the past weekend (September 12 and 13) I cut grass on many of the trails, and cleared fallen trees in 4 locations. There was a vicious wind storm back in July that brought down some really big trees; fortunately, only a couple landed on the trails.
I've also made some small revisions to the trail route near the north end with the hope that we can avoid the snow-drifting problems that were prevalent here in the past.
I'll be going out tomorrow with earth-moving equipment (i.e. pick-axe and shovel) to try to remove a couple of boulders from the trail on the Tai Chi property.
I've also made a couple of improvements to the groomer to help it hold a straight line on a cross slope. Time will tell whether this is effective. At least it will be much stronger than last year.

NEW FOR THIS YEAR
I am going to try grooming a figure 8 loop for skate skiing this winter, particularly for anyone who would like to do a bit of skate training. I've been mowing the grass to a 3 metre width, and will do the same on the soybean field, once the beans have been harvested.