I rode the DVSJ area yesterday exclusively for the first time yesterday with my friends son on the back for hist first real ride. A big THANK YOU to the DVSJ for doing a great job on the trails. Althought we didn't hit the trails until 10:30, most trails rated an 8 to 9 for grooming. We only hit a few water bars, but these were to be expected. Traffic was light ( although my passenger counted 97 snowmobiles, go figure! ) and the snow cover was excellent. There were only a few big rocks in the trail, but they will disappear with more snow. We staryed at Sitzmark, went north to WM18 and south to Hogback mountain. At WM16 the sign is down. If you are heading south, Sitzmark will be to the left and Willington straight ahead. I heard that heading north to Wardsboro from WM20 is in very poor condition for about a one mile stretch.

We attempted to go to the top of the ski area at Hogback. I had been there before and thought the kid might like to go up the tower. I saw lots of tracks heading up so I took it. Right about where it gets really steep, the tracks peeled off to the left back down the hill. Nobody broke trail as of yesterday. Not wanting to get stuck, I worked the sleds back and forth on the packed snow to get them pointed downhill. It was a great day, even though the mileage was low, the fun was high.

FINGER WAG TIME

KEEP TO THE RIGHT!!! I had many instances of people riding right down the middle of the trail right at me. Despite slowing down and even putting my right ski off the trail, quite a few yahoos still wouldn't hug the right side. I truly thought we were going to bang ski's. Please hug the right and slow down when passing other sleds, especially in the woods where the trails are tight and twisty.