Trail Report

What a winter its been! ACT trails are sufficiently covered with snow and ready for your favorite winter activities. The cold weather and consistent snow has added up and led to some of the best snowshoeing, skiing, and fatbiking conditions we’ve had in years! Get out there and enjoy it while we’ve got it, winter won’t last forever!

Grooming on FA-NEMBA trails and snowmobile trails has been going strong all winter, and led to near-perfect conditions. To help preserve the base for the rest of the winter, we encourage hikers to wear snowshoes and walk parallel to the groomed trails or choose to XC ski/fat bike. Be courteous of other trail users and avoid “postholing” the groomed trail. Remember “Think, don’t sink!” If you’ve never been fat biking and would like to try, check out a bike from The Gear Library in Franconia or Bethlehem and thank our friends at the Bethlehem Trails Association! See their website here: BIKES — The Gear Library, Part of Bethlehem Trails Association

The backcountry glades at Cooley-Jericho have filled in nicely with all the snow this past month. Conditions have been sufficient for skiers and boarders on all of our glades, but hazards may still be encountered beneath the snowpack. As the days get sunnier and warmer, expect these hazards to be more present on the southern facing slopes. Use caution when ascending the skin track and exploring the glades, and when in doubt, take the ski out (it typically holds snow much better!)

Be prepared for variable conditions before heading out on the trails. Make a plan, bring food and water, and wear layers to stay dry out there!

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.