Snow was Short-lived - Trails should be ok

The snow came and went yesterday. We saw white at the tops of the mountains up to about 1:00 pm, and then gone by 3:00 pm, so the trails should be clear of snow. You'll still encounter a bumpy ride from rain washing and downed trees. Keep an eye out when riding some of the faster sections - there may be a tree in front of you. jill

Sunday March 16 Trail Update 7:30 am - Snow

If you are planning to head to the Weiser State forest to ride the RCST trails today - don't! Well, if you really want too you can, but expect snow, wet and cold conditions. It's currently snowing at 7:34 am. It's a wet snow, but it'll make trail riding less than fun today.
jw

There's a Space Ship on Top of Broad Mountain In Weiser

It sure looks like a space ship...I was wishing I had a camera to get a picture. It's in the huge field on the very top near the hang-glider launch. Rim Trail acutally circles around the field where the ship is sitting. I'm sure Rick and I will be over there tomorrow to get pictures. Its really cool. Big...weird...all kinds of gadgets on it.

I FINALLY got on the trails today and have much to report.

• Dismounted no less than 10 times to crawl over, under and around downed trees. We have work to do. Keith said he'll be "Trail Boss" now that he can't ride until his wrists heal.
• Was thinking how bumpy the trails seemed. Duh...maybe it's because it poured raining two weeks ago? And maybe the trails are really washed at spots. Yup...you will notice a much more bumpy ride. There's some serious washing at spots and rocks are exposed. Most noteable washed areas:
• Rattling Creek at the "gully" where the water is supposed to run (its one of the biggest rock gardens on Rattling Creek).
• Fawn Kill at the log pile -- there's actually standing water in there.
• Shale Run - watch for the tree on the downhill with a branch sticking deadon in front of you -- I wish i could have moved 'cause that one is dangerous if you don't see it coming and are flying down there.
• Schreffler to the turn on Dry Run. Very washed, still soggy, a tree or two will slow you down if the washing doesn't. Its not screaming fast anymore!

Will try to get out and get a pic of the space ship tomorrow. Amazingly, even with standing water in spots and several soft spots - there's no mud! I love our trails. I bagged a race today at Blue Marsh 'cause I knew after last night's rain Blue Marsh would be a quagmire of mud. I'm glad I bagged it...was a great day in the woods.

jill

Friday, March 14 Trail Update for Weekend

GO RIDE! With only light rains predicted for the area this afternoon and this evening, the trails should be ok (but not completely dry) for this weekend. Still watch for soft spots and don't go around them -- go through them. The waterfall on Doc Smith is running nicely, so you'll have that to contend with, and Rattling Creek is flowing nicely -- you'll want to stop and admire it! Rick was admiring it so much last weekend (it was up maybe 2 feet from normal) he was picturing himself in it with his kayak. ARGH!
Maybe I'll run into one of you this weekend sometime - Jill

Mo Rain, Mo Soft, Gooshie Trails - But Maybe Ok to Ride

Ma Nature is a bit unpredictable this month -- as suspected. The next few days will tell the story for weekend riding on RCST trails. Weather.com and Accuweather.com have differing forecasts - weather.com says showers and Accuweather says chance of a shower Saturday afternoon, so I can't say for sure what the conditions will be like come the weekend. It doesn't appear there will be a downpour like last week, so we may be safe in getting out and riding. BUT, if you do, you may encounter some soft spots and if you do, remember the golden rules of keeping singletrack singletrack:

• Ride THROUGH the center of the puddle or mud.
• Do NOT go out around the soft section. If you do, we'll track you down using CSI methods of analyzing your tire tracks.

Cheers!

ps. Rick and I had planned on getting on trails on Sunday since we haven't been there since who-knows-when (October?!), but appears its won't be warm enough for Rick (high of 40). So its a wait-and-see-game.

How's Keith?

Some of you may have heard Keith had surgery this past Monday for carpal tunnel and a related arm issue. He's doing just fine...he's checking out bands tonight to find a new one for the BASH this year. He ain't sitting still!

Trail Update - After the Rains

Rick and I got out and hiked some of the Rattling Creek Trails today. The trails are soggy, soft and there was some washing from the heavy rains. There's a bit of washing at some of the turns on Rattling Creek, but nothing serious that we saw. We recommend no riding singletrack for a couple more days -- definitely not tomorrow, Sunday. There's bunches of snowmobile trail you are welcome to ride. And the fire roads are in good shape too. Watch the pot holes!