Groomed Trails - Summit Prairie 12/30/15

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from Glen Johnston:

Todays grooming is in black.
Awesome snow with a low of 8 and high of 22. Good day and good trails to be had.
Dave

Peggy and I skied out the RR grade from Summit Prairie toward Logan V. today, half inch new over Mondays grooming.  Great skiing!  Swix Blue for glide wax and Swix Blue Xtra for grip wax, perfect!   GJ 

      

Groomed Trails Summit Prairie & Logan Valley 12/29/15

from Glen Johnston ~

Dan Vandehey took the Huddleston Groomer out today.  FR 101 southwest to FR 1649 south to FR 16, then back on 1649 west to FR 058 and FR 064 to FR 1648 west to Lake Cr. Camp and FR 16 return to Huddleston via snowtel site.  Thanks Dan

Groomed Trails 12/28/15 - Summit Prairie & Logan Valley

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from Glen Johnston

> Groomed from Huddleston today.  Orange path, the gap in the line was when the phone fell off the dash and quit tracking for a couple of miles.  Will work on that:-) GJ
>

>
>

Logging Operations: Co. Rd. 65 / FS 6510 Rds & FS 49 / 4920 Rds. - Starr Ridge 12/28/15

4920 rd - Starr Ridge
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FW 6510 rd  a few miles east of 395 on Co. 65
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Below are two messages forwarded from the USFS re: logging operations on roads used by skiers.




The 4920 rd. is a popular & close ski trail that begins at Starr Ridge campground on Hwy 395. From the message, am not sure if the entire 4920 rd will be plowed, or just the section starting at the 49.  If it is, an alternative would be to go 1/4 south on 395 to the Starr Ridge Sno Park (requires a parking permit) and start on the FS 333 rd.






 From: Courtney, Ryan -FS
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 7:25 AM
To: FS-pdl r6 malheur all employees
Subject: Road Side Fire Salvage - Fawn Springs Area

Road side salvage logging operations have begun in the Fawn Springs area. Currently hand fallers are working along the 6510 road off county road 65. Snow plowing activities are occurring along the 6510 road and several of the spur roads off the 6510. There is no log haul or machinery working at this time.

I will keep people posted as things progress.

and:

From: Freeman, Lisa S -FS
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 7:13 AM
To: FS-pdl r6 malheur all employees
Subject: Venus SBA timber sale logging operations

Venus SBA, T2 purchaser, has begun logging operations on the 4920 and 49 roads. The 4920 will be plowed to the 49 road junction. The 49 road will be plowed to the 4900218 junction.

The haul route is the 49 road to the 4920 to county road 41023-63C to the Izee Highway.

1660 Loop - Summit Prairie 12/27/15

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Location: County 62 rd. to Huddleston snow park & Summit Prairie; jct 62 & 16S rd.

Road & Trail Conditions: Hwy. 26 dry pavement.  Co. 62 dry, until forest boundary plowed, packed snow & ice, light gravel on curves.

 started at beginning of 16 S rd, south to 1660, east then north up to summit rock; 1665 rd north and back around to south, cross Co. 62 rd to huddleston sno park, south along 185 to 135 & return to start.

Snow Conditions: deep & snowmobile track choppy at beginning & end; in between: groomed trail (weds.) with 4-6" since & snomobile tracks along uphill 1660 & 1665- almost as good as groomed.

Skis on & temperature: 9:15am 14° (JD 24°) occasional 10-15mph windchill drops to 0 quickly especially along the ridge. keep skiing

Skis off & temperature: 3:15pm 19° (PC 21°; JD 27°)

Distance: 12 miles; 1600' elevation climb

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 9.9, only following the sno cat groomer could have been better

on the 1660 rd toward summit rock looking west  summit prairie in foreground logan valley in background

Comments: was heading toward this on last trip, didn't pan out. today it did.  lovely. a great loop if you have the time & leg condition for the elevation, i stopped frequently to catch my breath.  the view is worth it.  at one point, summit prairie in foreground, crane prairie to left, logan valley in middle distance west, bear valley further.  couldn't get one picture to capture it ( found windchill 0 to be the limit of camera battery)

now that i can do this elevation climb, looking for an opportunity to do dixie butte & strawberry lake (not on the same day)

maybe a dozen snowmobiles out on holiday weekend. mainly around huddleston & toward logan valley.  none up the 1660 rds.

all the snow from last 2 weeks is slowly compressing. a few more inches in the forecast.  a few more  trail groomings this week could produce some fantastic trails. enjoy~

looking from start point; jct 62 & 16 S rds.

click here for a short video clip taken from there

FS 598 Rd. Loop - Summit Prairie/Huddleston 12/25/15

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Location: County 62 rd. to Huddleston snow park & Summit Prairie

Road & Trail Conditions: Hwy. 26 dry pavement, blowing snow.  Co. 62 dry, at forest boundry plowed, packed snow & ice, light gravel on curves.

FS 598 rd at Co. 62 rd looking east; easy to miss with the snowbank from plow.  Rd. # sign buried by snow

FS 598 rd to 625; north for awhile, backtrack south to 1660.  east for awhile, backtrack to 16 S. north up Co. 62, cross west at 598 to 185 north to snowpark and back down 62 rd to 598.  follow that?  it's on the map above. another way to do this is to start at the 62/16 jct., ski uphill & then back down.

Snow Conditions: deep - 6', variations on groomed with 3-6" new snow, ski tracks, snowmobile tracks, break trail. lt. to moderate constant flurries, occasional snow showers, maybe 1" accumulation thru day. alternating partly sunny to snow shower cloudy. occasional wind gust dropped temp. to 0 quickly.

a great base is forming.  some of the first grooming is now buried. snowmobile tracks over that grooming offer great conditions; otherwise, very deep.  as more grooming gets done, options will increase.

FS 625, snowmobile tracks with 8-16" over groomed last week

Skis on & temperature: 9:30am 11°;  JD 22°

Skis off & temperature: 3pm 20°; PC 26°, JD 29°

Distance: 11 miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 9.5 slightly sticky & deep snow

coming down the 625 rd.

Comments: the FS 598 rd. is halfway between huddleston snow park & the 62/16 jct.  good place to head east.  followed ski tracks (thank you, glen johnston?), then snowmobile tracks. a loop can be made with several variations depending on trail & leg conditions.  there is an unmarked road for a short distance that connects the FS 185 rd. across Co. 62 to the 598 to make the loop.



today, the best trail was the 1660 starting at the 625 & east; west was choppy & deep.  would have liked to have gone further east on the 1660 & around.

 i love this place

Groomed Trails 12/23/15

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12 23 15 in yellow. Snow is very  DEEP and wind blown up top.

Snow Depth 12/23/15 Noon

Huddleston (Summit Prarie) 5870 ft.  54"
Lake Creek (Logan Valley) 5240ft.    39"
Starr Ridge                          5220 ft    28"

Groomed Trail 12/21/15

from Glen Johnston:

Bill Prophet and Dan Vandehey groomed from Huddleston west and south on FR 101 to FR 1649 and Fr 070 to FR 064 to FR 1648, to FR 058, back to FR 1649 to FR 125 and return on FR 101.  Bill reports very good grooming, snow is very deep.  49" at Blue Mountain Snowtel site.  GJ

16rd South to Crane Prairie 12/20/15

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Location: Summit Prairie, jct of County 62rd with FS16 S

Road & Trail Conditions: 62 rd plowed at 10am; FS16 rd west not plowed.

FS16S groomed yesterday with fresh snow & more falling throughout day.

Snow Conditions: variable from fresh groomed to +4" on top, slightly moist, choppy in places

Skis on & temperature: 10am 18°, partly sunny then cloudy & continual snow

Skis off & temperature: 3pm  28°

Distance: 9 miles, 400' elevation climb in first 2 miles, up & down afterwards

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 9 snow got to be a little sticky & deep.

Vicki Thompson reaching the summit of 16s 5600'

Comments: Vicki Thompson & i had a lovely snowstorm in the mtns. trip.  fresh groomed yesterday made it possible, thank you Dave Hannibal. by the end of the day it was covered by another 4-6".  That area is getting 2-6" everyday.  it would be good to focus on the most recently groomed trails.

Two pairs of snowmobilers were making trails, too.

The area around crane prairie, 14 & 16 rd is one of my favorites.

FS 16 S rd. looking west, Crane Prairie to left

Groomed Trails 12/20/15

from Glen Johnston:

12/20/2015
Gerald Sager took Cat # 2 out today.  Grooming from FS RD16 & 15 junction south on FR 15 and FR1540, east on FR 546 and FR 1560, north on FR 1630, to FR 514 back to the start.  Thanks Gerald

Groomed Trails 12/19/15

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use a more detailed USFS map for road #'s
check Map Page for info

Groomed Trails 12/18/15

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check Map Page for info

from Dave Hannibal via Glen Johnston:

Orange is 3 days ago and red yesterday. ;-)

First Trail Grooming 12/16/15

Dave Hannibal took Cat #1 out today and sent the following report.  Thanks Dave

Begin forwarded message:
> Great Snow out there!
> Dressed up the lot at Huddleston and headed north, then up the 101 to the 1649 to 1648 to the 1640 (High Lakes turn off) Did not go to High Lakes as it is currently restricted for fire closure. Ran down the 238,934, 095, and 097 (railroad grade) back to lower parking lot. As the 16 RD is being plowed all our trails will have berms where they meet the 16 rd. Cut a trail from lower lot over to the 14 rd and bermed it as well, back to Huddleston on the 187. Many miles to go to get caught up. An average amount of blowdowns to be had and as usual watch the iceburgs in the new trails and rough trail conditions around areas where blowdown trees were removed.
> Enjoy the Snow
> Cheers
> Dave

map to come

Roads Closed - Fire

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A few roads are closed because of fire damage from last summer.  The roads are posted like:

 

On the above map some roads are at the closure area edge (Star Ridge: 4920, 3925).  These seem to be open, roads going north from them are closed.

Ski Safe!

Why Ski Grant County?

fs 371rd west of starr ridge snow park

Starr Ridge 12/14/15

windfall creek meadow  333rd west from starr ridge snow park

Location: Hwy 395 south from John Day & Canyon City

Road & Trail Conditions: 395 in the morning was plowed with packed snow/ice, gravel on top the whole way - 35mph.  On return in aftn., patchy snow/ice in shade, rest wet pavement.  likely to frreze & thaw like this through the week. cattle gaurds mostly covered.

Snow Conditions:  12-16" new powder; no trail groming; ski and tire tracks with new snow

Skis on & temperature: 10am  26° (JD 34°)

Skis off & temperature: 2pm 36° (JD 36°)

Distance: FS4920rd  2+ miles; FS 333rd 4+

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 9.5 would liked to have gone further

Comments: started at starr ridge campground, FS 4920rd west, Jan Mead skied this yesterday, her tracks mostly filled in, snowmobile tracks for a few hundred yards. switched to backcountry skis, wider, shorter, more scale area, less sinking into 16" powder.  break trail on way up, nice downhill return. at 093 rd. got too steep & deep.

starr ridge cg 4920 rd west
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drove 1/4 mile south on 395 to snow park (requires snopark parking permit). took FS 333rd west,  353 north, 370 & 371 north.  starts downhill to windfall creek, nice little meadow. turned north & followed tire tracks until they stopped.  too deep to continue.

starr ridge snow park 333rd west
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this was a day of following ski & tire tracks & turning around when they stopped.  as the warm freeze cycle continues this week, snow should compress some.  add a little fresh on top & it could be
premium for awhile.

on the 371 rd

FS 16 rd. South 12/5/15

click on maps for larger versions (this route is split between 2 quadrangles.  looking at some software to 'stitch' them together).

fs 16 south at summit prairie

Location: Summit Prairie & South: County 62 rd from Prairie City or FS 16 rd. through Logan Valley.

Road & Trail Conditions: FS 15 & 16 rds. improving with warmer temps., dry pavement to packed sno & ice. no trail grooming yet. no snomobile tracks in the 16 rd south area, some tracks at 097. cattleguards partially covered.

FS 16 rd. South has fresh tire tracks with packed snow.

Snow Conditions: 2-6" moist

Skis on & temperature: 1pm 35°

Skis off & temperature: 2:30pm 41°

Distance: 6 miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 10

Comments: it's amazing what a little distance east & elevation can do for snow conditions (see next post). the sno was great.  16 south has a 2 mile gradual slope, 400' to summit (1 hr.).  lovely descent on way back (10 mins.).  skied to junction with FS 14 rd south.  fresh tire tracks cont'd on 16, older tracks with 1-2" sno on 14.  14 goes down into crane prairie, one of my favorite places.  from the summit roads go east with options to loop back to summit prairie (600, 615, 1660 ). at the 16/14 intersection, 16 heads east above crane prairie with multiple loop options  (600, 657 ).  14 heads south (660, 154).

fs 16 rd south at summit looking north, 2 miles fun descent

FS 1643 Rd. 12/5/15

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Location: FS 16 rd. west end of Logan Valley

Road & Trail Conditions: FS 15 & 16 rds. improving with warmer temps., dry pavement to packed sno & ice. no trail grooming yet. snomobile tracks on 1630, 1640, 1648, 1649. cattleguards not covered

FS 1643 south started with fresh tire tracks, packed - only for 1/2 mile.  remainder was older tire tracks with 1-2" damp snow

Snow Conditions: started packed, damp; ended very sticky

Skis on & temperature:  9:30am  35° overcast to partly sunny (JD: 47° & overcast)

Skis off & temperature: noon 42° mostly sunny

Distance: 6 miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): started as a 9 ended as a 3

Comments: decent fairly flat ski for 2 miles, then became too sticky & turned around when south exposure increased (orange dotted line above).  snowshoe stepping with 1-2" snow stuck to skis. great workout, poor skiing.

was planning to do a loop (purple dotted line above),  maybe a little ambitious. will try another time.

went looking for better conditions further east & higher elevation at summit prairie.  see previous post.

Trail Grooming Example

1/8/15 groom - click on map for larger version

a larger pdf version of this map is downloaded here.

this is an example of what trail grooming posts will look like:



County 62 rd: FS 101 west to 125 west to 1649 west to 702 east to 101 north & east to County rd 62.

some maps could also have several within a week or two depending on conditions:

1/1 and 1/8/15 groom - click on map for larger version

a larger pdf version of this map is downloaded here.

Why Ski Grant County?

FS 1630 looking north to Strawberry Mtn.

Merit Meadow Loop - FS Rd 16 Logan Valley 12/3/15

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Location: West end Logan Valley: FS Rds 1630 S, 493 W&S, 516 E, 1560 N 1630 N

Road & Trail Conditions: FS 15 rd not plowed, 4-6" ruts over packed snow/ice, Subaru AWD just made it, not for much longer; at 10am. FS 16 rd not plowed; by 2pm was plowed to packed sno/ice.

No groomed trails yet. FS 1630 rd new 4x4 truck tracks since last snow (thank you) = packed powder; 493, 516, 1560: 2-4" powder over older tire tracks = requires a little breaking trail.

new tire tracks 1560 S on left; older tracks & break trail 516 on right

Snow Conditions: 8-10" almost powder over packed base

Skis on & temperature: 10:30am  30° overcast broke into mostly sunny at noon; forecast 32 mph winds didn't materialize until evening (42° @ JD)

Skis off & temperature: 2pm 42° (54° @ JD)

Distance: 8 miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 10

Comments: there aren't many loop options because of terrain & road layout.  this is an easy one; a little elevation gain at the 516 & a fun descent to the 1560. rest is flat.  a very easy, flat route would be the 1630 S as far as you like and then turn back.

1630 rd north & Strawberry Mtn.

Railroad Grade - Summit Prairie to Logan Valley 11/30/15

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Location: County rd62 Prairie City to Summit Prairie.  turn right at FS 16rd for 100'. go straight west 100' when 16 jogs left into small plowed parking area. there is no visible road # sign at the east end of 097, possibly because the first several hundred feet are private property.

fs 133 goes north & uphill; 097 is the tracks going left

Road & Trail Conditions: 62 road plowed & gravel; patchy snow/ice until Trout Farm campground, then solid.  FS 16rd is plowed Summit Prairie to Seneca, packed snow/ice, no gravel, 20-25mph. FS 15rd - Parish Cabin to Canyon Meadows (Wickiup Campground) not plowed - 4x4 trucks kept open, not for long; County Rd65 to 395 plowed, patchy snow/ice.

Snow Conditions: 2-3" new powder over 2-3' base, no groomed trails, a few snowmobile tracks leaving Huddleston snopark; some roads have 4x4 pickup tracks - packed powder, easy to ski on

Skis on & temperature: 11:30am  24° (prairie city 18°)

Skis off & temperature: 3pm 35° (john day 27°)

Distance: 9 miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 9

Comments: beautiful day, great snow got a little soft & sticky as temp. rose.  hardly any elevation gain = FLAT. another few inches of dry snow this week could produce lovely conditions.

 

truck tire tracks stopped and broke trail for the last ?mile. breaking trail is good conditioning and generates appreciation for the snocat trail groomer that does over 40 miles in a day.

Forest Service 16 Road Plowed Through Logan Valley

On 11/30/15 the FS 16 road was plowed down to packed ice/snow from Summit Prairie to Seneca. As long as this continues it allows for starting ski trips from Logan Valley, rather than skiing in 10 miles from Summit Prairie or Canyon Meadows.  The maps below show some of the possible trails north & south of the 16 road. There are more than a dozen possibilities depending on grooming, snowmobiles and/or truck tire tracks.

The FS 15 road was not plowed from the 16 road (Parish Cabin) to Canyon Meadows and seemingly won't be. Access to the Logan Valley trails via the 16 road will be from Prairie Summit or Seneca.  It's a bit of a drive; the more level trails, loop trails and scenery may be worth it.

Logan Valley West - click on map for larger version

 

Logan Valley East - click on map for larger version

Giving Thanks Day Ski - 11/26/15

Location: Summit Prairie, 994 FSrd east to Starvation Rock, 101 FSrd west to Skyline Trailhead.  6 miles

Snow:  6" fresh powder over small base. perfect

Skis on:  10am  20°, sunny, no wind

Skis off: 3pm, 20°

Trail: no grooming yet. 4x4 truck tire tracks, good condition, some break trail.  on undriven trails snow is too deep to ski.

Suggestions:  10 on a scale of 10. a group of 3 hunters had driven up the 994 road, only way i could ski up.  they came back a little later as i was coming down, stopped, asked: is it ok with you if we hunt along this road?

i love this place

First Ski: Summit Prairie 11/19/15

Location: Summit Prairie, 101 FSrd west to 125

Snow:  3" fresh overnite on top of 3" last Sunday.  Wet, more like Cascade Mtn. snow

Skis on:  11:30am  32°, constant mist

Skis off: 3pm, 40° moderate rain, snow slushy & compacted to 2"

Suggestions:  wait until next snowstorm.

good first ski of the season, was pretty wet by end.  ready for powder.