Trail Report

NOTICE: The Cooley-Jericho Community Forest backcountry ski glade is now closed until further notice due to high temperatures and minimal snowpack. All other ACT trails are pending temporary mud season closures. Please stay off the trails if they are extremely wet, thank you!

Mud season is right around the corner! This is the time of year where trail conditions are dynamic and changing by the hour, with many contributing forces at play. The snowpack on ACT’s trails is quickly melting away, leaving behind ice, water holes, downed limbs, and thawing ground.

Trail conditions will be variable throughout March due to the annual freeze-thaw cycle that comes with above-freezing daytime temperatures and cold, freezing nights. Ice has built up in heavily trafficked and persistently wet areas, be sure to bring crampons or Micro-spikes with you on your hike. Additional snowstorms are certainly not out of the picture, but neither are storms bringing a wintery mix or rain; each scenario having its own significant impact on our trail conditions. Trail users should expect to encounter ice, water and mud at lower elevations and south-facing slopes, and deeper, packed snow and persistent ice at higher elevations and shaded northerly aspects throughout the month.

Remember to wear the appropriate gear for the trail and its conditions. Micro-spikes or crampons are going to be very popular this time of year with all the ice, and some gaiters to keep your feet dry from all kinds of snow and water might be nice as well. When you encounter mud, please stay on the trail and walk through it instead of around it in order to lessen the maintenance needs this spring and summer.

Be on the lookout for mud season trail closures at trailheads and parking areas, and check this webpage before heading out to know if your favorite trail is still open or not. Temporary trail closures during mud season help ACT and trail volunteers better manage our trails during their most sensitive state. Please respect trail closures and remember that they are temporary, your experience on these trails this summer will only be better because of it.

Now go out there and get after it while its good! We’ll see you on the trails. 

Trail Reporting

ACT’s trails rely on a team of dedicated, hard-working volunteers and maintainers to continue providing recreational opportunities and access to the outdoors in the North Country year-round. The link below allows the general public, as well as our volunteers to keep the ACT team up-to-date on current trail conditions. If you are out and about on one of our trails and notice something that doesn’t look quite right, (tree down, washout, mud hole, overgrown vegetation, etc.) please go ahead and let us know on the “HAZARDS” page. Conor, our Trails Manager, will address the hazard and organize an opportunity to fix these problems with volunteers who wish to join.

Thank you for your continued support and excitement for outdoor recreation. See you on the trails!

Reporting Table

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17mOuLR6ptI0srsjPedrjqdjDvOxj_3756gSVoGQRYLM/edit?usp=sharing

ACT Needs Tools! 

ACT’s Trails Program is growing and needs both hand and power tools to better maintain and grow our local trail systems. Do you have some equipment in the garage that you no longer use? We’d love to help you clear out some space! 

Refer to the list below for the tools that we are most in need of.  

If your tools are old(er), dull, or a bit rusty -- no problem -- we can fix them right up! However, we ask that you do not donate tools that are broken or are no longer functioning for their intended use.  

If you think you may have some things to donate, please contact Trails Program Manager Conor at [email protected] to coordinate. 

Hand Tools: 

• Loppers 

• Hand Saws 

• Rogue or Hazel-type Hoes 

• Pick Mattocks 

• Cutter Mattocks 

• Axes or Pulaskis 

• Rakes 

• Sledgehammers 

• Silky saw

Power Tools: 

• Chainsaw 

• Weedwhacker

Other:  

• Chainsaw Chaps: gently used and in good shape 

• Work Gloves: unused  

• Hard Hats: unexpired and in good shape 

• Mill Bastard Files: in good shape 

• Wire Brushes 

• Wheelbarrow  

• 5-gallon Buckets

• Tarp

• Webbing

• Toolbelt / holster

• Safety Glasses

Lastly, we need volunteers to swing these tools! If you’re interested in helping on ACT trails, please reach out to Conor at [email protected] for more information.