Limited Riding

Riders: MB, Bill and Gregg

Miles: 68

I can't remember a season where the trail to the Upper Valley Grill has been closed due to lack of snow this early in the season. What is going on with the crazy weather? Tons of snow down south but none in Canada or the Northeast Kingdom.

We did a lot of running around to get our sleds to the trail today. Our truck with the victim of a hit and run last Tuesday night so it's in the shop being fixed and we don't have a vehicle to tow the snowmobile trailer.

Last night we made arrangements to borrow my father-in-law's truck, drive it to the camp, pick up the trailer, drop the sleds at Gregg's camp, take the truck back to my FIL at the farm and then drive back to our camp.

On the way up north we realized that my FIL did not have a hitch on his truck so it wasn't going to do us any good. We ended up calling our VT neighbor, Glenn, and arranging to borrow his truck so we could get the sleds to the park. It was easier for us since we didn't have to drive so far out of our way. We had to gas up at P&H and get down the road to Gregg's without lights on the snowmobile trailer since Gregg's truck didn't have a plug for lights. Good thing we didn't run into the law and there weren't many people on the road.

The riding was limited to the high elevations in the park and the snow was melting by the minute. The snow conditions in the heights was decent but as soon as we started to get into the lower elevations it got muddy and bare. We turned around three or four times when we got to some dirt roads we would have had to skip down. We did ride down one road and went the wrong way and ended up riding about a mile in the mud. That part wasn't fun but we were able to get back on the snowy trail and wash all the mud off.

We rode out towards Washington and saw one of the groomers that lost its track stuck off the side of the trail.

On the way back we saw a group of guys there trying to get it out before it got any warmer and they would have had to leave it there until next winter. We didn't have to wait long for the crew to move out of the trail and let us pass by. They didn't need our help and we still had riding to do before all the snow melted.

It was worth all the hassle to get the sleds to Gregg's so we could ride this weekend since it looks like it may be our last.

We had to leave our sleds outside in the elements at Gregg's camp until we get our truck back so we can trailer them out of there. At least, for now, they are sitting on snow.