Pictures and Story by Larry Gomes
The warm November weather has allowed our work crews to continue to knock off
more trail projects. One project that has been getting pushed off is
finally finished. A new trail going up the hill behind the WMRR clubhouse
that was planned out over 18 months ago was cut and excavated over the last two
weeks.
The original trail going up the hill from the clubhouse was turned into a multi-use ATV/snowmobile trail 3 years ago and it has never been able to hold snow properly since then because of the excessive crown built into it. The snow just falls off the trail into the ditches along each side.
The new trail will be used only in the winter and has been built flat so it will hold the maximum amount of snow. It will also be a one way trail allowing traffic to go up the hill on the new trail and come down the hill on the multi-use trail.
By reducing the up-hill traffic on the multi-use trail, the hope is that more snow will stay on the trail and not get spun into the ditches on either side.
The new trail is shown in Red on this aerial photo from Google Earth.
The trail that goes up the hill
on the left is Corridor 19 south, which is the same trail shown
on WMRR Webcam 1. The entrance to the new trail is shown by the red arrow.
Here is a close up of the trail
entrance before Matt our excavator operator has worked
his magic on it. You can him in the excavator working on the trail in the
distance.
While this work was going on, Dalton Binette and Larry were out installing the last of the sign posts. Two weeks ago, there were over 40 posts stained and ready to be installed, but by the end of Saturday, they were all in the ground. So far, over 500 sign posts have been installed in the WMRR system. Some were purchased by the State for use in Jericho Park, but most were purchased by the club or donated by White Mountain Lumber.
Dalton and Larry started their
post installation on the Berlin Trail (PT108). They installed
posts at the new trail junction with the Suicide Hill Trail and then at the new
bridge that was
built last week. While they were at the bridge, they picked the left over
lumber
(shown strapped to the ATV in the picture). Two of the sign posts they
installed
for directional arrow signs are also shown in the above picture.
The next stop was along Cedar Brook Road in Milan. Here Dalton fills in
some dirt
around a post that was just dug in for a "Junction Ahead" sign for the new
Bickford
Hill Lookout trail.
The view from Bickford Hill is
really spectacular. To the right (northeast) you look down
on the Pontook Reservoir. The sign post behind the ATV will be used for a
dead end sign
and to warn riders not to go any further due to steep side hill slopes.
The view to the North looks up
the Phillips Brook Valley with the wind towers
clearly visible on Dixville Peak 15 miles away.
Many thanks to Matt, Dalton and Larry for their work over last weekend. Because of their work and others, riders will have two new trails in the WMRR system to ride on this year.