We did have several groomer breakdowns but our excellent groomer staff were able to get them up and running in quick order. All-in-all, we had very few mechanical issues this season compared to last.
We received our first real dump of snow in mid-January and our first day of grooming was January 12. At that point, we had all three groomers running every day, packing all 310 kilometers of trails. Our trails and those of Old Hastings and Maple Leaf were among the first to open in the province and, in southern Ontario, the last to close.
It was a measure of the variability of the winter weather we experienced that from the first day of grooming to the last (January 12th to February 20th, 39 days),the groomers had to sit 13 days due to either rain or such warm weather, grooming would have done more harm than good.
We closed the entire system a couple of times to try to preserve what little base we had and that may have helped prolong the season. Our final trail closed on February 26 so a very short season indeed.
Normally, we track how well the grooming meets our targets for frequency. We set targets for each trail and track how close we are to meeting them as a measure of the general quality of those trails. With the frequent interruptions due to weather, it was too difficult to see how well we did. We heard from many riders that our trail quality was pretty good considering the limited snow and frequent warm-ups, so we were feeling about as good as we could expect.
We are already deep into planning for next year. We have two bridges (Fishtail Lake on E trail north of Harcourt, and near Mason Hill on E109) that need to be replaced but require grants which we are applying for. We have many trail improvements we want to undertake and are hoping we can raise the funds to complete them.
A special thanks for our landowners as without their support many of our trails would cease to be.
We are always looking for volunteers or donations and encourage persons to contact us through Facebook page or info@paudashtrailblazers.on.ca
Thanks for your support and wish you and your families a safe and happy 2024.
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