Meriden Trails

Hello,

Two days and two reports!

From Bill:

Yesterday, great conditions for racing classic today, some sun and temperatures in the low to mid-20s – blue kick wax for some, green for the old hands like me. More than 100 high school and middle school skiers spent time on the Smokehouse Loops this afternoon. Some PES students not in the ski program got to watch the racing, as well as folks there to just use the trails.

We did manage to groom everything after the nice snow of Tuesday, and have set tracks on the Smokehouse Loops and in the fields. Across the bridge are some fine skating and good classic with no tracks. The snow is a nicely firm powder – it won’t get better than it is right now! Time to ski.

We found a Tesla card out on the trails today. Email us if it is yours or send your Tesla to come to get it in autonomous mode.

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And…

Many of you have donated this year, thank you so much. For those of you who want to send in donations: 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!

www.meridentrails.org

All the trails are groomed, we were able to groom yesterday afternoon. Racing today (2/10) from noon to 4 pm on the Smokehouse trails. Cross the bridge and there will be a lot fewer folks for those out tomorrow afternoon.

The first annual Women’s Skate Ski Clinic at The Plainfield Trails was a huge success!

Amy and Vicki report: We had 26 women who came out to work on their skate skiing technique and meet some new ski buddies. We had a range of abilities from beginner to advanced intermediate skiers and all learned new skills that they could take with them as they continue to ski this winter. Our beginning/lower intermediate group worked on V1, no poles skiing, and uphill technique while our intermediate/upper intermediate group worked on V1, V2, V2A, and uphill technique. We were able to cover a lot in the two hours and the perfect grooming with light snowfall on top made for excellent teaching and learning conditions. A huge thank you as always to Bill Knight for the superior grooming! It was a treat to work with so many lovely ladies and we can’t wait to do it again!

Bill Knight reports:

We have managed to get a couple of passes on all the major trails including Ira’s Loop. There is a women’s skate clinic there Sunday, so I hope to get more grooming done there this morning to form the surface – trails that have been groomed just once are slightly soft – it takes a second day of grooming to firm them up. The classic skiing is very fine on those surfaces, however.

We held a classic race during the day Wednesday, our first chance to ski on the Smokehouse trails this calendar year. Much fun was had and other folks had fun skiing across the bridge. We anticipate Wednesday racing on those trails every Wednesday in February.

Trails should be in good shape for the weekend. One groomer is down for repair, so set tracks are limited to what was done on Wednesday. I hope to have the machine fixed by the end of the weekend.

– Bill

It has been a beautiful week out on the trails thanks to the snow (of course) and the great grooming work. Smokehouse trails open all the way over across the bridge up to Ira’s. Carla Chandler shared a photo from Wednesday morning of the perfect corduroy up toward the top of so inclined.

**************
And….

Many of you have donated this year, thank you so much. For those of you who want to send in donations: 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!

www.meridentrails.org

Good news from Bill:

Friday’s couple of inches of snow was enough to get some trails groomed this evening. The fields around the school are groomed, Wastewater Way, Deerpath and for the more adventurous – So Inclined and Not So are groomed and skiable as long as you pay attention to the thin spots. As people snowplow down they may get a bit sketchy, but….once you get to the top of those climbs the Airstrip and Ira’s Loop have the best snow of all

Happy, safe, outdoor winter 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!

www.meridentrails.org

Come Enjoy a Women’s Skate Ski Clinic!!

Fundraiser for the Meriden Trails in Meriden, NH

February 7th, 1-3 PM
(Rain Date 2/21)

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 beginners and above.

All of the $50.00 registration fee goes to support our Meriden Trail system.

For more information, and to register please email VLBMeriden

Space is limited and 8 people have already signed up. – Register ASAP to ensure your spot and enjoy some outdoor fun!!

________________
Nat Pierson
npierson

A great day out on the trails. Both Bill and Les Lawrence continued the grooming the deep powder.

From Bill:

A huge thanks to all the folks that helped pack out the trails today. We got more grooming in because of you. Deerpath, the Center Trail and Brook Loop are all groomed. Rattling Bog has been driven over with the machine and will be groomed tomorrow morning. Jon Nichols and I then hope to break out and groom Townsend and hopefully get up So Inclined!

Keep snowshoeing and skiing on Ira’s Loop, So Inclined! And Not So, as they will be groomed tomorrow.

**************
And….

Many of you have donated this year, thank you so much. For those of you who want to send in donations: 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!

www.meridentrails.org

Hello,

Time to ski!

The generous dose of snow we got Thursday was powdery and lacked base, so the grooming was challenging, but Bill and crew got it done.

Bill reports:

The flat areas – Wastewater Way, the Bridge Trail, and the Field Loops are all groomed and firm.

The snow was too fluffy to allow traction to climb the hilly trails, so getting more trails open beyond the flats will be challenging. I expect Deerpath could be opened tomorrow. Slightly warmer weather will help.

And believe it or not, your snowshoeing and skiing on the ungroomed trails helps our snowmobiles float.

See you out there!

🌨🌨🌨🌨🌨🌨🌨

How to donate to the grooming, trail maintenance, and equipment 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!

www.meridentrails.org

Happy December,

A grab bag – a mishmash – a potpourri of precipitation will fall on the Upper Valley today. I’ll consider this the winter season kickoff whether it contains liquid, ice, and/or snow.

Snow or not, thank you all for the donations we have already been getting. This has allowed for the purchase of a new snow drag (see photo) Bill acquired a Tiddtech grooming drag for the Alpina to replace the very old and ailing previous one. This one is lighter, better, and agile enough for the steep loopy terrain.

Also, your support keeps the trails open, maintained, groomed, and free to all. This is more important than ever this winter when being outside is the safest way to get exercise, stay sane, and healthy.

Here is hoping all of you are keeping yourselves safe.
_______________

How to donate to the grooming, trail maintenance, and equipment 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!

www.meridentrails.org