Evening All!
Trail Report:
Everything is groomed (11 Jan @ night), and Josie Louis’ Loop is probably the only trail I would recommend avoiding as there are some bare spots on the climb after the stream – feel free to do the condensed version which is just cutting right after about 300m to enjoy fireball hill. For the amount of snow we’ve gotten, the trails are surprisingly skiable. I will likely try and hold off a groom until the next dusting of snow or the weekend – whichever comes first!! The hills are in great shape, and the northern spring streams are still showing, but are getting covered. The cold weather at the end of next week should help us there. A grooming rhythm I’ll try and keep will be Wednesday / Saturdays – storm and snowfall dependant.
There has been some traffic on the back side of the snowshoe trails which is great to see. If you wind up walking on the ski trails, please make an effort to avoid the skate skiing / classic track, we saw a significant drop in the center of the trail where snowshoes went through last groom.
The warming hut has had a fire on in it fairly frequently – that’s what it’s there for, and it is open to anyone! Put any cool stickers you have on the door and make yourself at home.
For trail users looking for a virtual map:
All Snowshoe Trails: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/canada/prince-edward-island/harmony-trails-legacy-loop-striders-loop-meteorite-loop-snowshoe
All Ski Trails: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/canada/prince-edward-island/harmony-trails-full-system
You can download these from alltrails onto your phone, so that you’ll have them despite the service being poor in the trail area.
Trail Etiquette reminders:
- Stay on designated trails and follow directional signs (counterclockwise for the main loop).
- Snowshoers yield to skiers.
- All Striders trail users yield to snowmobiles.
- Keep pets under control and clean up after them in the snowshoe trail system. If you do have your pet out there, ensure you have home insurance coverage in the event an incident does occur between your pet and someone else as you are liable for your animal. The club assumes no responsibility should you choose to take your dog on the system and experience an incident with another user.
- Preserve grooming by avoiding ski tracks with boots or snowshoes.
- Control speed and ski within your ability.
- Minimize trail wear on downhills by controlling speed without excessive snowplowing—use proper downhill techniques.
- Use headphones responsibly and stay aware of surroundings.
- Pack out all trash and leave no trace.
- Respect wildlife and avoid disturbing animals (especially our trail owl… he/she is in there somewhere by Fred’s Meteorite).
- Check weather and trail conditions before heading out.
- Ensure you have paid for a day pass or annual permit. This is very much so on the honour system, but as a non-profit – the profit generated is key in keeping the trails accessible to all and maintained.
- Dress appropriately and carry essentials like water and snacks. Feel free to stash things in the warming hut on the trail!
- Be courteous to all trail users!! We want everyone to feel at home here at the club, so feel free to ask questions and make the club your own!
The Lodge:
If you didn’t get a chance to pick up your Striders shirt from 24′ season, there are still a few at the lodge. If they aren’t spoken for by the end of next weekend, we will just put them on for sale while we dream up the 25′ version!
Rental Hours we will look to maintain (with some volunteer assistance – if you would like to assist in the rental shop in exchange for a free season pass, please let us know. This would include a few 2-3 hr shifts on a weekend of the season) are:
10am – 8pm Monday – Friday
8am – 8pm Saturday & Sunday
This will see an earlier start on weekends throughout the winter, so bear with us as we seek some volunteer support to make this happen!
We have also extended the invite out to snowmobilers in our area to stop by for a coffee / meals while this service is being offered on the weekends. If attending, please follow these arrows respectfully, and park out behind the lodge in the appropriate location. This is being trialled this winter to see if it’s something that benefits all users and continues to build the winter hub concept that we’ve created!
Starting this coming week/weekend:
14 Jan: 7pm – Souris Striders Annual General Meeting. Topics to discuss include fun things like future projects, 2025 ski club events, financials, dogs, the coexistence of snowshoers and skiers and the saga of the disdain for boot prints on the trail, inclusivity of all winter sports through the hub project, and many many more exciting things! All are welcome!
16 Jan: Under the Lights ski w/ Kevin and Chad. We will have the rental shop open, and the group ski kicks off at 8pm with a mixture of headlamp and 3k skiers. All ages and skill levels are welcome, a fire will be on in the warming hut! If you’re looking for some pointers or a refresher, people skiing will be more than willing to help – we just may not be very good, so be prepared for mediocre advice.
18 Jan: 10am – 4pm – Blend n’ Brew (Coffee, Smoothies, Protein Balls)
19 Jan: 3pm – sold out – Loaf n’ Ladle with a specific menu to follow, posted on our social media!
We are also working on finalizing our liquor license, so should you want to swing by the lodge and have an apres’ beverage with some friends, we will let everyone know on our social media when this will be available.
– Huge shoutout to Liz Burke / Carly Boertien / Becky Townshend for keeping the doors open this weekend!
– Thanks to Sarah Flynn for assisting with grooming.
– Frances Braceland for livening up the social media page.
– Allan Arsenault for taking his loppers to work and getting rid of some of those eye pokers along the trails edge!!
– You also may consistently notice a flood of firewood being prepped at the warming hut – huge shoutout to Andy Ryan for making this happen and keeping the warming hut in good order.
It truly takes a village, and we have a phenomenal one. Also thanks to the continued support from our local skiers / snowshoers, as well as those faces that are becoming more familiar every weekend for driving out and enjoying everything our trail system has to offer – we appreciate all of the Striders.
The only downside of the snow arriving early and the trails being in skiable condition is that our winter lighting project may wind up occurring in the spring! We are still working with the contractors to see if there is a way to make this happen; however, the trenching of the cable / boom truck would wind up putting the trails out of commission for up to 2 weeks while this was being completed. We chose to keep skiing and see what the weather does and complete the project in the fall, unless a drastic weather change occurs.
Another thing we are really looking for are old Stories / Information about the history of the Souris Striders Ski Club. We are still trying to gather and fill this out on the facebook page. So if you have any old Souris Striders info, stories, pictures, etc. Please send it to chad.amooney@gmail.com and we will slowly start to gather it up and add it to the page. Vintage Ski Equipment also may find a home in the warming hut / main lodge if you have any laying around that you would like to get rid of! We are consistently trying to add more culture into the warming hut! So any donations are much appreciated!
Thanks again for all of the support! We are stoked to have groomed trail this early and to already be out in the wonderful 42acre woods that the province shares with us every year!
Keep an eye on our social media page for more updates!
