Fantastic afternoon skiing a beautiful pine and birch forest with the trees still loaded with snow and frosted crystals. The trails were in nice shape with soft snow - no icy ruts. Sections 5-15 are now open. Our group came back with 7 of our 8 ski poles remaining intact. Snowmobile repaired so we hear groomers will be back out Tuesday. Great job getting the many many downed trees free from the trails.

Photos:

(Karla Anderson)

Sunday update: No change to grooming/tracking status of trails - eastern trails groomed, near west trails packed; far west trails unpacked (deep soft snow). But, the good news is that our snowmobile is repaired and we will soon be back out. A couple groups of skiers reported to me that groomed east trails were 'great" and they didn't run into any deadfall trees, thankfully. I went out on the far west trails 19-23-24 and can confirm that they remain untracked by any except our moose, who not only walked these trails but bedded down (photo). These far west trails are a slog in the deep snow, but provide a special opportunity to feel the wilderness character of the system.

Photos:

(Mary Shedd, Friends of Flathorn Gegoka Trails)

Some trail segments were trackset today: The central trail ("Jensen Trail") is groomed (10 through 18 down to I) as are all trail segments to the east, with the exception of 5 to 15. All trails to the west of Jensen Trail remain well packed, but are un-tracked. Snow conditions are very good - and the debris of last week is now covered by new snow. Unfortunately we have had serious trouble with both our own snowmobile (in shop waiting for new engine parts) and one generously loaded to us by community of Isabella. So, repeated or new track-setting on rest of trail may be on hold for a couple weeks yet. Nevertheless! The beauty and quietude of trails, groomed or not, together with the great snow mean you will still have a wonderful wilderness ski!

(Mary Shedd, Friends of Flathorn Gegoka Trails)

Trails are packed, but not groomed. We continue to work on clearing all the trails of down trees from the 36-inch snowfall on the weekend of Dec 18, 2022, and have made significant progress. All trails have been packed at least once as of today except between 21-22, 22-12, 19-23, and 19-24. More progress would have been made but our snow machine groomer decided to break down while grooming the trails on Dec 21. Hence while we were able to pack once if not twice on many of the trails, no grooming/tracking occurred as we work through getting the snowmachine rescued from the backcountry, taken to the shop for repair, and find a replacement groomer to use while it is in repair. In spite of all the setbacks, skiers continue to report how truly enjoyable the less-than-desired conditions are due to the sheer beauty of the forest with all its tree-covered snow and warm temperatures. When tracked trails will be complete is yet to be determined.

Photos:

(Nancy Schultz)

Trails packed, but not groomed. Progress today: now the entire central "spine" of the system - known as Jensen Trail - is repacked and cleared of downed trees (1-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-10); the eastern trails (east of Jensen Trail) are all repacked and cleared of downed trees now including the 8 and 6-7-9-10 and 15-5-13, as well as the trail circling Flathorn. We are now turning our trail clearing attention to the trails west of Jensen Trail. Until we groom, skiers will find as close to wilderness skiing it gets outside the Boundary Waters - guaranteed it will be just you and the moose, wolves, snowshoe hares, otters and other boreal critters.

Photos:

(Mary Shedd, Friends of Flathorn Gegoka Trails)

Trails are packed, but not groomed. Even though we have over 36" of good cold snow, last weekend's blizzard has prevented us from grooming due to tree falls. In spite of this, the trails are skiable under these conditions: All segments were packed before the blizzard and have a solid base with 3-4" of fluffy snow on top. Though there are no tracks, at least now you won't break through the deep snow. There is a lot of debris from the high winds (twigs, needles, lichens, etc) so that will add to the slower going of untracked skiing. Lots of small trees have come down too. Currently the only segments fully cleared are from Flathorn Picnic Area Trailhead all the way around the lake (past 8-7) and 18-1-2-3-17-16. On all other segments you may occasionally come across down trees or branches. Our crews are working to get the trails cleared and we hope to groom at least the eastern trails within the next week.

Photos:

(Mary Shedd, Friends of Flathorn Gegoka Trails)

After 30+ inches of snow fell last Thursday trail grooming has become a slow and difficult process due to all the down trees from so much snow. Sunday the trails were packed but not tracked from 1 to 10, 1 >2 >3>17>15>5>6>7>Flathorn Trailhead. Skiing on the packed trail is worth it, it is magical in the forest right now with all the snow on the trees.

Photos:

(Nancy Schultz)

An estimated 8 to 12 inches of snow has fallen in our area. All trails have been packed and easily skiable if you don't mind not having a track to follow. We skied 3>17>16>19>18>1>2. Thanks to Gary and Bert for packing and clearing trees that recently fell on the trails.

Photos:

(Nancy Schultz)

There are about 8 to 11 inches of snow that have covered the trails making it look like a perfect situation to set a good-packed track. Except for one rather serious problem: the trail the snow machine uses to access all of the trails is on the edge of Lake Gegoka and the lake refuses to freeze up. Gary Olson and I spent 4 hours snowshoeing on the trails today in an attempt to pack it by foot. The first 30 minutes were spent pulling ourselves out of the water as we broke through the thin ice and thick snow cover. The snow has done a fine job of insulating the higher-than-normal water levels. We did make it to intersection 2 but not without going in up to our knees. So yes, if you stay away from the water's edge near Lake Gegoka, back-country skiing would be extremely fun with the snow conditions the way they currently exist. We hope to have trails open soon, but we need a few more days of cold temps before access to the trails with the tracker is possible. Gary and I were thankful we went out in snowshoes and not on the snowmachine today because we wouldn't have had a snowmachine for the remainder of the season as it would have sunk in the wetland with no way out. See pink highlighted areas where we ran into water problems.

Photos:

(Nancy Schultz)

Ungroomed, but the trail around the lake has been skied in enough to make it a fairly pleasant outing. No idea why it isn't groomed, as there is plenty of snow.

(Josh Miner)