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

click on picture for larger version

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

click on picture for larger version

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