Well fellas, I had to head up north to my folks place near St. Helen this weekend and I have some trail conditions to report. My riding buddy and I headed out Friday night with the bikes and even a couple 4x4 quads :eek: - just in case!
Saturday we awoke to foggy, cool weather and given the amount of snow we saw in some sections of the woods, we decided we would take the quads out to "scout" the trails and see how stuck we could get them (about the only fun you can have on a quad - HA!). Anyway, we started out near St. Helen and rode all the way to the west side of the Denton loop. The south loop of St. Helen that we rode with the quads, was actually very rideable. At that point, we considered turning around and getting on the bikes. However, we knew that as we rode toward the Denton loop it would be more wooded and likely more snow\ice\water. We were right!! Denton was pretty "winter-like". Lots of snowy sections (still 6"+ in some spots) and there was plenty of ice and standing water. However, as we rode further south, the less often we would see snow and we actually found more rideable trails. We did a bunch of bogging and a whole lotta winching and basically had a muddy, wet good time! But we were both chomping at the bit to do some real riding - so we put together a plan for Sunday.
Today, we woke up to much the same weather unofrtunately, but it certainly didn't dampen out spirits. We loaded up the bikes and headed for Leota. We parked at Canoe Camp Rd. and headed south toward the ORV Trailhead. I have to say it was surprisingly good! We found most of the trails were very good. There were miles of trail that we completely free of snow and ice and that sand was nice and damp, giving good traction. Now, with that being said, there were some sections back in the deep woods that were plenty icy. And it was just that - mostly ice with very little snow. So that is definitely encouraging in that only the most difficult crap to melt was left on the ground! Keep in mind, we purposely rode the northern loops as there are lots of clear cuts so I knew this would be our best bet for good trails. It was a ton of fun and I was glad we made the effort.
All in all, I would say you could ride St. Helen and Leota without studs if you're careful (and selective), but Denton needs at least a couple more weeks. I would guess if the weather stays warm this week and maybe we get some more rain, the trails should be pretty much free of ice - only a guess though. (here comes legal disclaimer) I cannot be responsible for mad grumblings should you decide to ride one of theses areas, hit a loop I did not and experience "poor" conditions resulting in broken plastic, dented radiators or damaged pride. :laugh: Just remember, a day on the bike paddling with both feet through a few sections of ice beats a day......well......beats a day doing ANYTHING else!!!
Saturday we awoke to foggy, cool weather and given the amount of snow we saw in some sections of the woods, we decided we would take the quads out to "scout" the trails and see how stuck we could get them (about the only fun you can have on a quad - HA!). Anyway, we started out near St. Helen and rode all the way to the west side of the Denton loop. The south loop of St. Helen that we rode with the quads, was actually very rideable. At that point, we considered turning around and getting on the bikes. However, we knew that as we rode toward the Denton loop it would be more wooded and likely more snow\ice\water. We were right!! Denton was pretty "winter-like". Lots of snowy sections (still 6"+ in some spots) and there was plenty of ice and standing water. However, as we rode further south, the less often we would see snow and we actually found more rideable trails. We did a bunch of bogging and a whole lotta winching and basically had a muddy, wet good time! But we were both chomping at the bit to do some real riding - so we put together a plan for Sunday.
Today, we woke up to much the same weather unofrtunately, but it certainly didn't dampen out spirits. We loaded up the bikes and headed for Leota. We parked at Canoe Camp Rd. and headed south toward the ORV Trailhead. I have to say it was surprisingly good! We found most of the trails were very good. There were miles of trail that we completely free of snow and ice and that sand was nice and damp, giving good traction. Now, with that being said, there were some sections back in the deep woods that were plenty icy. And it was just that - mostly ice with very little snow. So that is definitely encouraging in that only the most difficult crap to melt was left on the ground! Keep in mind, we purposely rode the northern loops as there are lots of clear cuts so I knew this would be our best bet for good trails. It was a ton of fun and I was glad we made the effort.
All in all, I would say you could ride St. Helen and Leota without studs if you're careful (and selective), but Denton needs at least a couple more weeks. I would guess if the weather stays warm this week and maybe we get some more rain, the trails should be pretty much free of ice - only a guess though. (here comes legal disclaimer) I cannot be responsible for mad grumblings should you decide to ride one of theses areas, hit a loop I did not and experience "poor" conditions resulting in broken plastic, dented radiators or damaged pride. :laugh: Just remember, a day on the bike paddling with both feet through a few sections of ice beats a day......well......beats a day doing ANYTHING else!!!