20 November ride

[paulneva]

BLM's last White Mountains trail report, dated 2 November, says 4-6 inches of snow and uses phrases like "rough but passable." They are supposedly going to post a new report on Thursday. I'll wait until Thursday or Friday to make a decision on Saturday's ride. I've done "rough but passable" in the White Mountains before and have no interest in doing it again. If somebody else wants to lead, that's fine with me. If we get a good trail condition report on Thursday, I'll be happy to lead. If not...

Paul

[paulneva]

BLM has not put a new conditions report up but it looks like we are actually going to get snow, so Saturday's ride is a go. We will meet at the Hilltop truck stop at 0900. Breakfast is optional. We will probably not leave there before 0930. From there we will trailer to the Mile 28 trailhead on the Elliot Highway. We will take the Wickersham Creek Trail toward the Colorado Creek Cabin. Bring your own lunch. My intention is to be back at the trailhead before the end of daylight. This will not be a long ride.

Paul

[john]

SnoTel reports 16" at Upper Nome Creek, the Whites should be about the same.

[paulneva]

You all missed a pretty nice ride today. Don and I were at Hilltop at 0900 and stayed there until 0930. There were four trucks with trailers at the trailhead parking lot ahead of us but no Snow Travelers. There was about a foot of new snow, about two feet total. The trails were not beat up yet, not more than six machines had gone on them since last night's snow. It was a soft ride. We never saw another machine out there, saw lots of skiers in the afternoon. It was a nice, easy ride.

Paul

[john]

Glad you had a good ride, surprised more didn't show.

The G-Son and I went in at 42 Mile Steese and headed towards Beaver Creek, didn't see another sled all day.

Snow was great and deep.

[David]

how was the trail at the 42 mi and on up throught the whites?

[john]

Excellent. Lots of fresh powder, but it was a wet snow.

It was the Maiden Voyage for the BearCat and it did good and left a nice wide smooth trail for as far as we rode

[Gobeil]

So how was the snow?

Joe G.

[Opie]

Wished I could have been there. I went to Anchorage, as my daughter made the All-State Band. We took our machines and rode Petersville - maybe one step above horrible. Enough snow to ride, but not much more. Lot's of people, water, and bumpy riding.

James Shill

[john]

Gobeil, the snow was great, but wet and sticky, still had a great ride.

Opie, thanks for the report on Petersville, was thing about going over T-day weekend, probable not if it was that bad.

If your all home, I'd stay there today, it's a day for tire chains and I'm wishing I had mine right now.