Rutted Trails

Just a short post today… actually a bit of a rant. I attempted to go for a ski this afternoon. It was sunny and warm, about 6 degrees, certainly spring conditions. I drove to the Backland Road, probably the most used trail in the Grand Bay-Westfield area. Given the deep freeze and then the rain, I knew trail conditions weren’t going to be the best. They’ve been icy and crusty for the last week but the hard packed trails that have a lot of snowmobile and ATV traffic are usually passable. With the sun and mild temperatures I figured the snow would soften and maybe produce some pretty good spring conditions. Boy was I wrong.

That trail that’s been in great shape for the last month is now a rutted mess. Four wheelers tore it up so bad you’d have a difficult time walking on it let alone skiing. The tire ruts are deep and full of water. Even a snowmobile wouldn’t go down that trail now. It’s probably destroyed for the rest of the winter.

This trail in particular is really multi-use. People walk and snowshoe along it. Many of us ski it. The horseback riders use the trail as well. And yes there has been motorized use all winter too. Snowmobiles and ATV’s share the trail with everyone else and there hasn’t been a problem until now.

When it’s cold and the snow is hard and packed down everyone can use the trail without damaging it. But when it’s wet and soft, care has to be taken. A walker or skier or even a horse wouldn’t have much of an impact. A snowmobile would probably pack it down and improve it. But a four-wheeler makes a mess. I can’t imagine it would be much fun riding either. After seeing the damage, it’s too bad this person or persons didn’t stop and go somewhere else. There are plenty of places to ride besides the popular walking trails.
Thanks a lot.