Its Takes A Village…

Here we are, looking forward to some snow and we know many of you are anxious to get back out on the trails – but what you may also be wondering is what new work has been completed in the off-season!! Well, look no further.

• Starting in the Summer, the trails were cleaned up and funding was put into the Legacy Park portion of the system for new benches/tables. Some tables are spread out throughout the trail system as well!
• We followed this up by purchasing a roto-tiller to help clean up some of the existing singletrack that was created on the Snowshoe Loop last year. It was hard work, but hopefully got rid of a lot of those poking branches folks mentioned last year on the trails!
• The fall brought on the installation of the “Lower Parking Lot”, which is located just north of the existing parking lot. The Main, Lower, and Legacy Park parking lots will also be cleared this winter for access.
• We had a volunteer day on 12 Nov, during which 20+ volunteers attended the site and cleared trail debris, renovated the biathlon range hut (now a warming hut), installed a fence, cleared new trail access points, and cleaned up the existing trail.
• We had Oak Point in again to mulch an additional 1.5k of trail. This, paired with 1.5k of existing woods roads brings you an additional 3k of snowshoe trail this year. Some zones require brief use of the ski trail to reach them, and these areas are marked with “multi-use area” trail maps. The newer portion of the snowshoe trail has orange markers, and the original 2.8k still has green markers, but the flagging has been dramatically improved this year!
• A wood stove was installed in the Biathlon Range Hut – there will be some wood/matches in the location, and users can feel free to start a fire on their way by to warm themselves up the go and do another lap.
• We bought all new rustic tables for The Lodge!! We also intend to have internet setup upstairs for folks to work/study/browse and take a ski break.
• Hilary MacIsaac came in and ensured our bridges were ready to go for another winter – this took some rock to fill a hole on each bridge (especially on the west bridge). We are looking to throw some finer stone down to make this smoother.
• We redesigned the logo, and are looking to pull in some branded clothing!
• New walking bridges have been put in place throughout the snowshoe trail to avoid some wet spots, with more to come!
• The trails have been renamed to “Harmony Trails”, as we’ve received permission from Forestry to use them in the summer as well! So this is great news. All new signage has been placed, giving the story behind the name. We are still waiting on one more for the main lodge parking lot (there is a temporary one in place – disregard it’s “you are here”).
• We got Oak Point to clear up around the groomer building.
• We spent the last week prepping trail/frost packing (a recommendation from Hilary to help improve our frozen base), clearing the last few downed trees, putting in final bridges, and praying for snow.
• We have a new website!! And will be able to receive payment for membership on here in the next week or so!
• We would like to thank our funders this year – Rural Development, Innovation PEI, ATPEI, and TAIPEI as well as external organizations who have assisted us – especially Souris Wildlife!
• We would also like to thank our contractors this year, who were prompt, local, and tremendously supportive!
• Lastly – thank you, trail users, for giving us a community. It truly does take a village, between volunteer days, boards of directors, paid staff, good ideas, shares, likes, donations, etc.

So what does all of this change?

• Skiers: We did our best to have the small required multi-use areas on the climbs, making it safer and easier to avoid a collision! Please keep an eye out for snowshoers in the following locations:
  • Bottom of Fox Run;
  • Bottom west end of Charlie’s Loop;
  • Bottom of the initial hill leaving the lit area; and
  • Last year’s spot on the home stretch.
• Snowshoers: You are more agile than skiers, they have the right of way on our trail system.
  • Please keep an eye out in the spots above as well as look left/right as you navigate the straight portion of Meteorite Loop on the new snowshoe trail. This will have skiers going downhill.
  • There is a new access location from the lower parking lot for the Legacy Loop. Please ensure careful crossing on the snowmobile trails! They’ve been made aware of our crossing locations.
  • Dogs are permitted on the Strider’s Loop and the Legacy Loop but must be under control at all times. We will decide during the season on whether or not to open up Meteorite Loop to dogs. Leashes could cause issues with passing skiers, so we want to see how the new loop works first. We certainly understand folks’ concerns with dogs but also appreciate our furry friends getting some time in the woods as well. If taking your dog, we recommend starting from the lower parking lot or Legacy Park parking lot!
  • When on the ski trails please don’t walk on the classic trackset.
  • When walking on ski trails, try to walk single file instead of side by side.
  • Green circles for the old trail & orange squares for the new!

Aside from this, nothing! Mark the 26th and 27th of January off on your calendars for Winterval!! We intend to do activities for all ages throughout, with a separate post on here next week elaborating (we are looking at trivia, morning ski + breakfast, snowshoe orienteering, evening ski into a fire, and Billy White). Our internal theme is “Keep The (Trail) Lights On!”. We want to keep these events accessible to all, so they are all by donation (with a suggested value). We are hoping to fundraise the electricity bill as a fun way to track the amount donated throughout the weekend, so any & all donations are greatly appreciated as we seek to expand and maintain the system in a manner that is focused on accessibility for the community.

We’ve also booked Loaf and Ladle for 24 February for an exciting event!

Continue watching the website for trail status/grooming updates. We will also have our events published here as well!!! We are working on partnerships with some phenomenal local organizations, so stay tuned for more details on that.

See you on the trails and as always – never hesitate to shoot us an email with a suggestion or an issue within the trail system.

Striders Trail Team