Spring, summer and fall are spent getting ready for next winter season. This year has been the most off season trail work we’ve done in many years. There are always sticks, branches and trees down. From rot and/or too much rain, too little rain, or too much wind. This year on March 30 and 31st we had an ice storm and Peru took the prize. We were the winners on the highest power outage map. So much damage!

The power went out early in the day on Sunday the 30th of March. Ice had accumulated in the trees on the ground etc. The temperatures were expected to go up, and the prediction was for the ice to start falling out of the trees. The temperature did not go up. The freezing rain continued, and Monday, the 31st, we woke up to more ice, branches heavier, trees and branches bending and breaking. The noise of trees falling and breaking was constant to the point of being outside feeling dangerous.

Ian cleaned up the Turkey, Woodcock and Snow Goose by April 3rd and 4th. The upper trails were another story. The storm ice damage was more severe at certain elevations. Birch, beech, moose maple(also called stripped maple), service berry (also called shad) and yellow birch trees took a beating, bending into the trail, mostly one or two at a time, but in a couple spots 50 to 80 trees down in a mess. Tops of maple trees broke, big old messy branches. I worked at cleaning the downed mess a chunk of trail at a time. With grand kids, especially Wyatt, in tow we sawed and threw branches off the Peregrine and Middle Blue Jay. Mike, Jon, and Jonathan helped me clean up Chickadee, Waite’s Place Loop, Loon and Upper Blue Jay. Whew, the 4 of us cut our way through in 4 hours. They say a picture is worth a 1000 words. Here are a few photos.

Now, on to mowing and weed eating getting trails smooth and ski ready. Firewood cut, split, and moved. And all the other little chores we need to get done.