Beautiful weekend in the woods. Almost felt summerlike!  Travel in the woods has it feeling more like mid May. The warm weather has triggered the trees to release their buds. We have been working on the mountain bike course and things are looking great. All the singletrack has been blown free of leaves and sticks and most of the ski trail has been cleared with the mower, blowing leaves sticks etc. We have also cut the deadfall out from winter storms etc. We have not marked the course yet but the trail is easy to follow with the leaves blown out. A few leaves blowing back in with lack of underbrush, and windy conditions. Dry weather keeping things “loose”.  We will begin marking the trail this week. The trail is open for riding at no charge. Riding has been great for early season. There are no services in the main lodge. The trails are closed to motorized use and horse travel.  We are considering hosting a short notice mountain bike race on Sunday April 25th, keeping an eye on the weather. Check back for more information. The woods are alive with the sights and sounds of nature and a great time of the year to be in the woods with no bugs and nice sight lines through the forest.

http://picasaweb.google.com/6birdman6/April9thTrailReportPhotos

The warm and mild Spring continues!! The forest floor and grounds are slowly starting to green up. The woods are alive with sounds and sights of wildlife including the highlight of a thousand toads or so calling during the evening. We have been working on the mountain bike course a bit, blowing out some of the singletrack and will continue to do so the rest of this week. We will start marking the course used for Laddies Loppet mountain bike race and should have the trail marked out in a week or so. However, the trail is open for riding for those familiar to the course etc.  Riding has been nice for early season. A few branches/sticks etc. and a few trees to be removed.  There is no charge to use the trails and there are no services in the lodge at this time. The trails are open for hiking and closed to motorized use and horses.

http://picasaweb.google.com/6birdman6/April7thTrailReportPhotos