News, Trail Conditions and Outreach
Good morning,
Bill Knight reports:
Getting some of the lower trails cut out – made it around Smokehouse and Townsend yesterday. Hope to clean Rattling Bog today and get the school fields chopped up for skiing. I may not get up So Inclined to Ira’s for a while as I will be away later in the week for the New Years end of things. More throwing and chainsaw work than any grooming I’m afraid.
Good morning!
From early bird Bill Knight comes the following grooming report:
I will be out grooming early this morning. I plan to groom all of the trails across the bridge today, but the Smokehouse Loops have too little base for me to groom. Skiing should be good today and tomorrow in the woods. With the continued spring temperatures forecast later in the week I expect the trails to be ice by late Tuesday or early Wednesday.
Bill Knight
Donation information:
Have you made your donation to the grooming and equipment fund yet this year? We’re going through gas, oil, and repairs every day! Make your check payable to "Town of Plainfield" with "Trails" on the memo line. (They need to know it goes to our account.) Your contribution will be tax deductible, and you can either put it in the donation box at the kiosk in the parking lot OR send it directly to the town at the following address:
Town of Plainfield
Attn: Bill Knight
Plainfield Trail Coordinator
PO Box 380
Meriden, NH 03770
Thanks for your support!
Latest grooming update from Bill:
The trails are groomed and ready to use with the exception of the Smokehouse Loops. We got out yesterday and this morning. The snow, while not all that substantial, did adhere to the icy surfaces in most spots. There are a few places where the trails are down to dirt so some caution is in order. On the flatter sections of trail the conditions are quite nice.
Monday morning update from Bill Knight:
I groomed for the clinics on the airstrip and Ira’s and Sally’s Loops yesterday. The conditions are definitely frozen granular – best for skating but grip is available for no wax classical skiing. Today we will groom the trails across the bridge in the early afternoon. We are planning to leave the Smokehouse Loops for the majority of the week to save snow during the late week warm up.
Souhegan High School will be hosting a sprint race on Saturday starting in the morning. The sprints will all happen on the Smokehouse Loops and the trails in the school fields. People can stay out of the action by skiing on the trails across the bridge. Or be out on the Smokehouse trails and cheer!
🌨 ❤❤❤❤❤ ❄❄🌨❄🌨❄🌨=======================
We got a lot of snow! Please donate to the trails fund!. Bill and other groomers have been busy this winter. Your donations go directly for fuel and maintenance on our machines and upkeep of the trails all year long!
Make your check payable to "Town of Plainfield" with "Trails" on the memo line. (They need to know it goes to our account.) Your contribution will be tax-deductible, and you can either put it in the donation box at the kiosk in the parking lot OR send it directly to the town at the following address:
Town of Plainfield
Attn: Bill Knight
Plainfield Trail Coordinator
PO Box 380
Meriden, NH 03770
Thanks for your support!
Greetings everyone!
Grooming Report: Yesterday Bill reported that the upper trails were groomed, and that the cold temperatures have allowed the surface to set up nicely. "Good conditions for both classic and skate." (Although, note, no classic track has been set.)
I skied every trail this morning (lucky me!) and can enthusiastically confirm that this report is still accurate – although I might wax a tad more enthusiastically than Bill and say that the conditions were GREAT! Plenty of snow everywhere, the snow has set up nicely, there is no hemlock or other debris on the trails and every single kilometer is groomed and waiting for you. The skiing on the upper trails is particularly good as fewer folks have gone up there.
Skate Ski Clinic (from Virginia Beggs – thank you, Virginia!):
Come Enjoy A Skate Ski Clinic!!
Fundraiser for the Meriden Trails in Meriden, NH
February 13 10-noon All levels (men, malex, non-binary);
1-3 PM All levels (Women, femx, non-binary)
February 27 10-noon All (open to beginners, advance beginners);
1-3 PM All (open to intermediate &+)
Work on skate ski skills and enjoy camaraderie in a fun, no pressure clinic taught by a local ski coach. This clinic is best for advanced beginner and above.
All of the $60.00 registration fee goes to support our Meriden Trail system.
For more information, and to register please email VLBMeriden
Space is limited- Register ASAP to ensure your spot and enjoy some outdoor fun!!
Donation information:
Have you made your donation to the grooming and equipment fund yet this year? We’re going through gas, oil, and repairs every day! Make your check payable to "Town of Plainfield" with "Trails" on the memo line. (They need to know it goes to our account.) Your contribution will be tax deductible, and you can either put it in the donation box at the kiosk in the parking lot OR send it directly to the town at the following address:
Town of Plainfield
Attn: Bill Knight
Plainfield Trail Coordinator
PO Box 380
Meriden, NH 03770
Thanks for your support!
Good morning,
A generous dose of granular snow yesterday!
All the lower trails have been groomed. We hope to re-groom them today since the snow is very fine and folks are still sinking in. Good classic skiing today, and the skating will be better tomorrow.
Bill
🌨 =======================
We got a lot of snow! Please donate to the trails fund!. Bill and other groomers have been busy this winter. Your donations go directly for fuel and maintenance on our machines and upkeep of the trails all year long!
Make your check payable to "Town of Plainfield" with "Trails" on the memo line. (They need to know it goes to our account.) Your contribution will be tax-deductible, and you can either put it in the donation box at the kiosk in the parking lot OR send it directly to the town at the following address:
Town of Plainfield
Attn: Bill Knight
Plainfield Trail Coordinator
PO Box 380
Meriden, NH 03770
Thanks for your support!
With the warm temperatures yesterday and overnight, today was a good day to stay off the trails and out of the parking lot. Trails are very soft, and the parking lot is a muddy mess.
Trails are slushy with exposed dirt and rocks from the melting.
We will keep you updated after this approaching storm on conditions! Looking for a snow recharge. Stay safe.
🌨 =======================
Time to donate to the trails fund!. Bill and other groomers have been busy this winter. Your donations go directly for fuel and maintenance on our machines and upkeep of the trails all year long!
Make your check payable to "Town of Plainfield" with "Trails" on the memo line. (They need to know it goes to our account.) Your contribution will be tax-deductible, and you can either put it in the donation box at the kiosk in the parking lot OR send it directly to the town at the following address:
Town of Plainfield
Attn: Bill Knight
Plainfield Trail Coordinator
PO Box 380
Meriden, NH 03770
Thanks for your support!
Hello all,
Grooming update from Bill:
All the trails have been groomed and are in fair condition for skiing. Coverage while thin is surprisingly good. Some rocks and roots are visible as is the occasional patch of dirt/leaves. So don’t wear your 800 dollars race skis, but you can use a pretty good pair and avoid the issues with a little care. So Inclined and Not So are the most problematic since the downhill snowplowing that people do scrapes the snow off.
🌨 =======================
Donate to the trails fund!. Make your check payable to "Town of Plainfield" with "Trails" on the memo line. (They need to know it goes to our account.) Your contribution will be tax-deductible, and you can either put it in the donation box at the kiosk in the parking lot OR send it directly to the town at the following address:
Town of Plainfield
Attn: Bill Knight
Plainfield Trail Coordinator
PO Box 380
Meriden, NH 03770
Thanks for your support!
Hello and Happy Boxing Day*,
Bill Knight reports that they have groomed all the trails except the school fields.
The skiing is very good.
Enjoy!
– The Trails Group
*In the UK, Canada, Australia, and other countries, this is the holiday where the ghost of boxing great Joe Lewis will sucker punch you if you whine about your Christmas presents.
🌨 =======================
Donate to the trails fund!. Make your check payable to "Town of Plainfield" with "Trails" on the memo line. (They need to know it goes to our account.) Your contribution will be tax-deductible, and you can either put it in the donation box at the kiosk in the parking lot OR send it directly to the town at the following address:
Town of Plainfield
Attn: Bill Knight
Plainfield Trail Coordinator
PO Box 380
Meriden, NH 03770
Thanks for your support!
Great news from Bill Knight to accompany the official start of winter:
All the lower trails are groomed, and the upper trails will be groomed tomorrow. Cover is pretty good in the fields and open but thin with some roots and rocks under the evergreens. Skiing will be okay for the next couple of days with the Smokehouse Loops having the best cover – only a couple hazards to watch out for.
Enjoy!
🌨 =======================
Donate to the trails fund!. Make your check payable to "Town of Plainfield" with "Trails" on the memo line. (They need to know it goes to our account.) Your contribution will be tax-deductible, and you can either put it in the donation box at the kiosk in the parking lot OR send it directly to the town at the following address:
Town of Plainfield
Attn: Bill Knight
Plainfield Trail Coordinator
PO Box 380
Meriden, NH 03770
Thanks for your support!