All the 104 trails were groomed last weekend and are hard and frozen. The fields are light though so we need to be careful. We took sleds up Trail 36 today and almost made it the the Bakersfield town line before we lost snow in the open fields. There just isn't enough snow to prevent damage to the grass. We did finish signing and cut a few trees. There are still fences to open on Trudell property in Fairfield and on John Howrigan's and Neil Doane's in Bakersfield. Let's hope Monday doesn't set us back even more.

Mike

This winter just doesn't want to start.

All of Trail 104 and loops are open plus 36A. We still need to open Trail 36 through Fairfield and Bakersfield and hope to get there this week soon. I haven't been on any of them yet (I did ride 100 plus miles in Essex county this weekend though!).

Couple inches accumulated this week as small dustings of snow that left us with a white blanket. Still not quite enough to groom though. If we can get just a couple more on top of what we have we will venture out again.

Trail 104 south to Cambridge is now ready, we just need to open a few gates and maybe a fence or two. Trail 36 in Fairfield we have a shared use section in Tim Vallee's newest maple operation. We will be using his road over 2 miles which he will be accessing his maple tree via tracked Kubota tractor and ATV's. They have the right-of-way and we will be marking this section. It's a very wide logging road and easy to go maybe just a little too fast not knowing if Tim's crew are just around the corner so we need to be prepared to pull over. I'm not sure what we will do if the Tucker meets the Kubota!

Big thanks too to the 175 Early Bird purchasers. Duane and I sorted these this week and I was surprised just how many people are able to take advantage of the Classic sled and Family discount pricing. As usual, we have only a couple non-resident members....most of us are from Fletcher, Fairfax, Cambridge, Milton, Westford, Fairfield, and Bakersfield.

Think Snow

Mike 

Friday we were out with the Tucker but it just amounted to opening gates, fences and moving trees. It was 10 degrees when they started and over 25 when they parked. I was hoping to have published we were open but it just didn't happen.

Cambridge trail over Bartlett Hill (104) may be delayed opening due to a woodpile (we may all get to help move some firewood!!!). Trail 36 we haven't opened yet and so there are a few gates still closed. If it does snow, feel free to open the gates and move the trees if you beat us to Bakersfield.

For those of you who do venture out ahead of us, if you are cutting a tree, please make sure it's cut the full width of the trail and moved OFF the trail. Just because a 48" sled fits doesn't mean we can get an 8' Tucker through and why not give the groomer guys a hand! They are all volunteers.

Mike

Rain last night was a setback but should give us a super base with the cold snap and snow that fell today.

No trails are open yet....

December 15th meeting has been canceled. See you in January. Happy Holidays and Think Snow.

Mike

Deer season is over and Laurie is now selling TMA's at the Fletcher General Store. Purchases by cash or check only at this time. The Store is kind enough to sell TMA's for us with no profit for them and she just can't afford to absorb the credit card charges. Larry Lawyer at L&L has the same issue. Maybe someday VAST will sell then online and you can use a credit card or Paypal...until then it's cold hard cash (or check).

Maps are also for sale but they are the same as last year so if you bought a map last year you are all set. By the way, the picture on the map is our Trail 36 in Bakersfield just a few feet west of the FN7 intersection sign.

TMA Sales Day will be at the Fletcher General Store again this year Saturday Dec. 10th. Don'f forget the discount is only available through Dec 15th and you must have a registered sled to purchase a TMA.

14 intersection signs and almost 1,000 field markers are going out right now. We still have two construction projects to move the 104C trail off Commette/Rugg Road and to move off Kennedy Drive and correct erosion issues on Mayotte Road. This involves installing 6 culverts and over 3 miles of trail.

Three bridges have been replaced already with a fourth almost done and brush hogging is 95% completed. We have a few trees to clean up still (you are welcome to move them before we do). TMA Sales will start at the Fletcher General Store after deer season, they are available at L&L Sales in Bakersfield now.

The Tucker Snow Cat needs just a few more hours of servicing and it's ready to go too. Now where are my sleds and are they ready to go?????