I drove by the RR bed in Raymond this morning and looks to me that it has not been touched. Does anyone know if any of these clubs have groomed and what the grooming schedule may be. Those trails have plenty of snow to be groomed and there really is no reason for them not to be. This is the first time in a long time that we have seen this much snow this early in the season and we all should be disappointed if the trails are not in good shape.

The RR Bed in Raymond would be the Trail Dawgs I believe. The SNHSS have started grooming (Going out Saturday night). We pick up at Brown Road in Candia. No one was sent out last night, but we will be out tonight. Typically we are out 6 days a week, Sunday being an off day.

Jezuz christ, it's the 3rd day of the season and you are complaining about the grooming?

I know Weare and many other clubs wait for the yahoos to go out and pack it down and beat the trails up before grooming. I think you'll see a lot of trails get groomed this week.

Hey Pekabu2u! I would be interested in going out tonight with one of the groomers. PM me to let me know whom I should contact and how to contact them. I am a Member of the SNHSS.

Not complaining at all. I just live off the RR bed and I would like to see it maintained (isn't this what our registrations support). I understand on the weekends it gets beat pretty bad because of the amount of traffic it can get but those trails should be flat mid week. I do know SNHSS does a better job than the club who is responsible for the Raymond side. It can be disappointing when you want to go out for a quick 20-30 mile spin at night mid week and the trails have not been groomed. I am excited about the prospect of riding right from my house so flat trails would be nice mid week. I will spend my time up north on the weekends

I'm the President of the Exeter club. We haven't started grooming yet either. The snow needs to set up a little. Until yesterday we didn't have enough to even strat grooming. The railbed can't be groomed until there is, I believe, 8" of snow. It's written into the agreement.

Geez, give us a break, we work for a living too. I'm sure they'll be out soon. Most grooming takes place at night as there's too much traffic during the day and many people don't know enough, or care enough, to ride responsibly on snow that hasn't set up after being groomed.

Any whoever posted that the Trail Dawgs groom raymend is a bit off. The Trail Dawgs are out of Pembroke. The Newfields Snow Raiders or Souther NH Trail Blazers groom the Raymond section, not sure which.

the snow that was down prior to yesterday sucked to groom and grooming the railbed from Epping to Raymond with fluffy snow is a waste of time. Remember these groomer operators are volunteers and many of them work in the trades and so where probably out yesterday plowing and sanding for their real jobs.

That was me. I always screw up Trail Dawgs/Trail Blazers. I have seen Dave from Newfields drive down.

We have a bunch of plow guys and it is really hard to cover when they work. Also when the work, the tend to work for a long time so you have to figure in sleep.

Yup thats is same for up here in boscawen club. Guys that groom also work there reg jobs. They can be out for 3-4 hrs a night and only get 5-10 miles groomed if there lucky!! some people just don't understand how long it takes.

I am hoping too get out tonight too check for blowdowns.

Give it time people. Stuff doesn't happen overnight!!

The snow we got up around my area both storms is very powdery. Very hard too groom. Need a warm day for it too set up some.

I rode the RR Bed starting in derry, to epping, then headed out through raymond. The trails were extremely bumpy, but plent of snow cover. As of last night the groomers have not touched either section of RR Bed.

That is all I am saying. The RR has not been groomed on the Raymond side and by the looks of it on the SNHSS side either (maybe before Sunday it was). For those of us who enjoy local riding we do like to see the trails groomed. I understand that most of the operators are volunteers. I do not groom and I am not saying I know much about it. I do know that the trails need to be packed and that was going on when the 100s of snowmobiles drove over it when we got the first 2 storms.

Listen I was up in Swift Diamond and Pittsburg trail systems this past weekend and not much grooming had taken place but the trails, for the most part, had been packed.

I also understand that the snow was powdery but come on. If we get 100 inches of snow this year and it stays cold and the snow remains powdery are you telling me the trails will never get groomed. I highly doubt it.

All clubs get a certain amount of money from the state, some obviously more than others, plus club memberships, plus money from registrations. Year in and year out when there is snow down here to ride the trails do not seem to get groomed that well or that often. The side that SNHSS does not take care of is always in worse shape than the side they are responsible for.

I do have to give it to SNHSS last year when we had marginal snow cover at best they did their best to go out and groom. They did what they could and I was shocked that they groomed to Bear Brook from the RR but they did it and for that I give them props.

This is why I join Swift Diamond Riders. I never have to worry about where my money goes. I know when I join that my dues are going back into the trail systems. I understand that they get more snow, it snows earlier, and the snow lasts longer. At the end of the day the trails are generally in good shape for the amount of traffic that is up there when there is no other place in the state to ride.

It will be interesting to see how flat the RR bed gets this week. The trails should be packed, the snow should have set up, and the temps seem like they will remain cold. For the guy who earlier said on this thread I was complaining on the 3rd day I was not then but I am now. I would like to ride local and put a little money into this econony down here but if the riding is not good I would rather park my sled at home and be a weekend warrior in Baker River Valley, Groveton Trail Blazers, Colebrook Ski Bees, Swift Diamond Riders, Ridge Runners, or into Errol's economy. At least here I know the riding will be good.

Dude read the rest of the thread. Some of us actually work for a living. Everything you ride on was provided by volunteer labor. Do you even belong to a club? Never mind, I'm not going there in this thread.
The trails will be groomed when the snow has a chance to set up a bit and some of us actually get home from work.

Do you actually know how that works? My club gets paid exactly $14.39 per hour to groom. After gas, oil and maintenance, there's not much left. Don't make it sound like were all out there getting rich off grooming. We get $20.00 per member for dues, half of which goes to the NHSA for Association dues. Last year we had 125 members so thats $1250.00 for the season. We don't make anything off registration sales as we don't register sleds.
I don't know where you get your information but maybe you should check your sources.

I am sure that the clubs will start getting out tonight and the rest of the week. The first week is usually the toughest. I usually go out on MY OWN TIME and move down trees that others just ride around after storms!! This year it should be better since we did alot of brush work this past fall. The groomer volunteers for most clubs are out at night in my area. Not sure how other clubs do it that are around. You also have too deal with breakdowns, witch your smaller southern clubs don't have the fancy rigs like up north have.

I would give it till next week once they all get this snow packed and people start riding on it. Watch out for those early season rocks!! They hurt.

Thank you!

If you read my post more closely instead of spewing out numbers I specifically said some clubs get more money than others. I never said your club, which I think is the one that is out of Exeter, gets a lot of money. You giving out these numbers is shooting yourself in the foot somewhat. You are saying you receive this money but admit you have not been out yet.

State only pays them a set amount per hour up to a maximum amount of the grant. If you have a grant that only covers say 20 days of grooming do you want them out grooming snow that can't be packed and in 2 hours will be blown out of the trail by the throttle jockeys(of which the rail bed seems to have the largest amount I've ever seen) or wait until the snow is wet, traffic is low and theirs a chance that it can freeze hard so they next time the throttle jockeys come down the rail brapping on it they don't dig through to the dirt.

Amen. I could not say it better myself.

No problem.

There is about a good 10-15 guys in my club that are always at the weekend trail work parties. The average age is prob around 50 years old. With my age I think I dropped the average Hehehe. We only have about 200 people in the club though!! Don't know where they are during the fall cleanups and money making events. Always the same people.

We are lucky too have a couple retired guys that can do alot during the week. All volunteers work too!!

I didn't want to send anybody on on Sunday night. Between sending guys out in the storm, and snow conditions I didn't feel it was the best choice. (I did take a drive Sunday to check out the roads and some accessible trails). Unfortunatley something happened Sat night and our groomer didn't hit the RR bed. The next run through that area will be Tuesday. Sorry for that.

Dave

Nobody's shooting anyone in the foot. We don't get paid for grooming until we have been out and I bill BOT for it, the following month. And again you have no idea what your talking about. Trust me when I say we don't get a lot of money. Like i posted above we get $14.39 per hour for using our own equipment. Not a money making scheme by any means. Join a club, attend some meetings and you'll know how the system works.
I'm not here to argue with you. I'm just trying to correct some in formation your "spewing" out.
But enough of this. Like was said above we'll get out to groom when we are able. I don't groom the rail bed any longer. I didn't want the liability We just do our club trails.

I live off of North road in Fremont, and as of this afternoon, this section of the RR bed HAS been groomed !
Now I just need to find the time to get out there.

even when there is plenty of snow on the railbeds from raymond to epping the trail still sucks! they only come all the way to the tunnel once or twice a week. I think its to far, to straight or just to boring for them to come all the way down here at 10 mph.
I just want to say im not being a dink, because I do think it is all the throttle jockies that blow the snow off in 2 hours!

No need to apologize Dave. I understand that it is difficult to groom right after a big storm. Like I said earlier I was at Swift Diamond Saturday and they got 8 inches of new snow Friday into Saturday night and they also did not groom or pack. I do understand why grooming is not always done right after a storm. I would like to see the local trails groomed more often. I do not think that the RR bed gets as much attention as it should especially east of the tunnels. My cousin rode by the RR bed on 121 or 121A today and Derry had groomed over there.

Dave it sounds like you may be a member at SNHSS. I was wondering if you knew anything about a trail that will be going to Pawtuckaway off of the RR bed. I heard a rumor that SNHSS was trying to get approval for a new trail to Pawtuckaway but it was put off until next year. Any info would be appreciated.

To mrsnowmobile:

Read my posts more closely. I do belong to a club and I mentioned this in a previous post. I belong to Swift Diamond where I know my money will be used for what it is intended, for grooming and maintain their trail system.

maybe instead of bitching about it here why don't you do a little research and find out when the next local meeting is, and attend. there you will be able to comment and learn about what has to be done to get the groomer on the trail and where the membership fees go. the way some of your posts come off is very disrespectful to your local volunteers that do what they can when they can to help provide you with trails that you obviously didn't help do anything on. because if you did you wouldn't have posted this thread. its guys like you that think a groomed trail is your right and not a privilage, well news flash every trail your ride is a privilage.


just a side note...a bad day on the trails is always better than a good day at work, think about it.

It's probably going to take longer for base to set up,the ground below wasn't frozen before the first snow storm, if we had a few more cold days it would have helped. I plow snow for highway dept. We have to be extra carefull of tearing up shoulders, gravel roads with the cutting edge of plow. Snowmobiles that can penetrate the snow to dirt base of trails can do lot of damage. Water crossings,small streams could still have thin ice. I imagine a groomer can do as much damage as a plow until frozen ground or snow can set up. Sending a donation,besides the registration fee to register sled could help. Diesel fuel is over 3.50 a gallon. plowking

Wow, I can't believe I just read what i just read.

I won't speak for anyone else but being able to roll out of bed on a saturday morning at a civilized hour, jump in the truck and drive a couple miles to a trail system is awesome.

Who the hell cares if they're not groomed perfectly. Its December. Its local. It beats the hell out of getting up at 4 to drive 4+ hours to get to Coleman state park to ride and then drive 4+ hours back home. never mind the $150 bucks in gas towing up and back.


To everyone who puts their time and effort into maintaining local systems, I say THANKYOU!!!!! If you get out with the groomers, great. If not, great. At least we have trails to ride local.


Chris.

This can be a really touchy subject with clubs. Some believe because a groomer has snow on it during the day there isn't any grooming being done. I have people complaining because a groomer was parked and had snow on it, or because the trails were rough at midday on a weekend. It's really disheartening. The groomer operator was out till 4am working, and when it was parked it started to snow. Two snow storms with fuffy snow and things aren't turned around immediatly and we aren't doing our jobs. Safety for operators and sleds is first. Instead of seeing snow on Dec 15th as a gift and a great starting point, it's the end of the world because things aren't perfect.

i went out and did 50 miles tonight from the auburn traffic circle to bear brook state park , it was rough till i got to bear brook and then it was good, it was great after the groomer went by !! then on my way back through tower hill area the groomer was out there as well.............a little to late for my ride , but i was happy to be riding from my house than trailering anywhere ! all in all for a early season southen nh ride i was pleased ! the only area that was really bad was the rail way bed from the circle to the entance to the slickers trail system.............i did ride some on freshly groomed sections and it was smoooooooth ! thanks !

The railbed should be taken care of tomorrow night. We groom from Brown Road in Candia (First 101 tunnel west, right now we turn around behind Hazeltons). The Tower Hill area takes 2 days to cover. It will only get better if the snow stays.

I can't believe anyone would complain about the conditions of the trails this year atleast there is snow on them The best way to get what you want is to go to SDR trail system the club you joined then you wont have to worry wether the rr bed is groomed. I'ld love to have them groomed but if there not I'm going to ride them anyway and just be happy there's enough snow down here to ride. It's only one person complaining so I would say the majority are just happy to have snow. Thanks to all the volunteers.

I just went by Fremont parking area and the groomer was coming through nice job people thanks for all the hours you devote to the sport!!!

I have been chasing snow for the last 3 winters because there has been no snow down here. We were lucky if we could ride from Baker River Valley the last 2 years. It is nice to see this amount of snow here in S NH this early in the season and they are calling for another 3-6 Wed.

I like to ride as every one does and I would love to ride down here more often and not travel 3 hours to get to the snow. I was disappointed not to see the RR bed groomed and I thought the clubs would have jumped at the opportunity to get some hours on the groomer. I can not imagine the groomers got too much work the last 3-4 years.

I would like to say that the RR east of the tunnels were groomed last night or today. I understand that the trails down here can not stay flat on the weekends because of the traffic and the set up of the trail systems. I would like to see them relatively flat midweek evenings and I believe everyone else would to.

I just think that the RR bed through Raymond and some of Candia gets ignored because it is so far from any club. It would be nice if SNHSS could get approval for a trail off the RR bed in Candia to Pawtuckaway, I heard this rumor, so the groomer that is parked there could possibly make the trip to the Candia Getty. This would add some miles to the SNHSS trail system which I believe has 80 miles and 3 groomers (just a guess) then they would be responsible for a big loop with Northwood, I believe, doing the trails that connect the 2 parks. I think there is another club below the Epsom traffic but I am not sure who that is. This also could be wishful thinking on my part as well.

The good news is we have snow down here for the first time in a few years. I just hope the snow stays and the trails stay in good shape. With the amount of traffice they can get I do understand the challenges.

Ya know.........gooming with a tucker is as much or more fun than riding a snowmobile. You should at least arrange a ride in a groomer. I'm certain some club somewhere can arrange a ride along. In fact, if you want. I can see about it here on the OVSC trails....if you want.

I would love to do that. I appreciate the offer but I live an hour and half from you. The only problem is that I would want to drive the thing.

The Pawtuckaway and Bear Brook connectors are big projects that are long term goals for the club. We have been so busy with flood damage from the last two years and bridges there just isn't enough time to do that too. We are now looking at fixing three bridges at Pawtuckaway next year, and then I hope we will be out of the bridge business. We are currently trying to redo the coverage routes. I hope to swing down the RR bed a bit more than we have in the past.

Pekabu2u,

Thanks for the info. I would assume you are from SNHSS talking about Pawtuckaway. You guys must be thrilled with all the snow and finally being able to enjoy your hard work. I know it would be a lot of work to create a new trail especially if the plan is to go up the power lines. I would imagine if this was the proposed route the clubs would have to do a lot of excuvation to make it a viable trail up through there. It would be great if you guys could make it down to the Candia Getty more often. Thanks Again

There are sections where you could drive and groom with it, no real danger. Bring your sled up, I'll take you on a tour of the OVSC and SOS trails. Then we'll take a spin in the tucker @ WLSP...You might even decide to join our club and become a regular contributor. We hae very active members who live quite a bit farther away than you do...I've had help drive up from Conn., and over from Vt....one of our members comes up from RI, and Armand (Pathfinder) comes down from Pittsburg to help, 3 hours one way.

double post, HCS is slow and cranky tonight...

The main reason for the rail bed being in tough shape so often are numerous things; high traffic, throttle jockeys, sun exposure on the trails, numerous road crossings, and you can not get the groomers inside that section between the two tunnels in Candia. When the trail does get setup, it is really fun. As for the SNHSS, I feel once they are up and grooming full time, you will be very pleased with their grooming efforts. Bear Brook and the Tower Hill loop are great riding trails when in good shape. Always enjoyed riding that area. Last time we had alot of snow in southern NH, we were able to ride from Windham Depot all the way to Epsom. Relax it is early but it will get better.

Don't forget condition of the trail. I believe that last section between the Getty and Exit 3 is ugly (I believe there are other ugly sectoins I'm just not that familiar with them) The RR bed west of 101 is in good shape being fixed up a couple of years ago. The new Trail Admin for the Rec trail has a lot of projects already for next year. The RR bed and 15 are very tough trails to keep decent though because of the reasons stated by NHsledHead1. At one time when we had a Track Truck in the Tower hill area, we actually drove it the 1 Mile around the tunnel and did between the two tunnels. It was really tough on the tracks. When we traded it for the PB we stopped doing that.

Dave

I find it Pathetic that Any groomer operator or club volunteer should feel they have to justify why the trails are not groomed to someones likeing . The snow Just fell, the trails Just opened and oh yea, these volunteers have a life other than sledding . Don t like the bumps, take up Skiing . With that said, Thank You Pekabu, OT and the rest of you folks who find time to improve our sport.

i rode the tower hill and bear brook trails last night. nice job to the club and groomers. this was my first time riding in that neck of the woods. thank you!

I was there last night. I got there ar 9:00 pm and did not get home until 3:00 am this morning.
I am so tired but atleast I rode,but atleast I live about 20 minutes from there.
Were you guys at a football field last night with a bunch of Revs, because I was there riding a 2008 Arctic Cat Black F-1000 and my buddy was riding a 2005 Black Mach Z 1000.

I also rode Bear Brook, Tower Hill, and 360 North last night. Conditions ere the BEST that I can remember in between Bear Brook and Tower Hill! Also wanted to thank JOE for letting us into the clubhouse last night, I was using my wife's machine and had left my key at home on my sled.
Great job Guys! Oh and the Signage was Great! Thank you Ray!

Thanks OT. My inlaws actually live in Cornish Maine about 20 minutes from you (I think you are in Ossipee). This very well could happen with all the snow around both Maine and NH.

As for the trails down here in S NH. I understand all the challenges that the clubs face and the section between the 2 tunnels is nearly impossible to groom and I am pleasantly suprised when it is groomed. I think SNHSS do a pretty good job and I have mentioned that in previous posts. It is difficult to keep up with the traffic. Most riders go back and forth on the same trails because of the nature of the system.

Thanks OT. My inlaws actually live in Cornish Maine about 20 minutes from you (I think you are in Ossipee). This very well could happen with all the snow around both Maine and NH.

As for the trails down here in S NH. I understand all the challenges that the clubs face and the section between the 2 tunnels is nearly impossible to groom and I am pleasantly suprised when it is groomed. I think SNHSS do a pretty good job and I have mentioned that in previous posts. It is difficult to keep up with the traffic. Most riders go back and forth on the same trails because of the nature of the system.