Season Opener: Winslow Trail 5/4/24

Snow and ice has melted off most trails, the gate to this one is open, and five of us turned out to patrol it.

After greeting old friends, and signing the waiver, we took tools and set off uphill in 40s temps and a shower of rain. Three hiked to the summit and worked down. Two hiked up the the rock stair we built in 2022 and raked drains downhill from there. We saw several jobs to be added to the worklist for this trail, soon we can flag them but with a different color so we don't get confused. The 6 P's, true as ever.

We chatted with several hikers, passed out cards, etc. Good PR always helps.

The summit team did hike there, clearing one blowdown, and raking drains on their way. They found a large mudhole fed by water from rain on the ledge. The blaze boards need re-painting. Most of their time was spent barricading bootleg trails. They guess that hikers in winter find ledges covered in flow ice. Most do not have spikes, so they go off trail into the woods in search of better footing. People on bare ground go there too, and are wearing new paths into the thin organic soil among the small spruce trees on mossy ground.

Our next trip there we'll go up Rollins Trail. Besides patrolling that, we'll finish the barricades, dig a ditch to dry out the mudhole, paint the blaze boards etc. The bigger impact is that too many winter hiker do not bring spikes for their boots on a mountain known for ice flows on ledges and trails that last all winter.

Summit team 3 crew @ 7 hrs, drain team 2 crew @ 6 hrs, total 33 hrs. Big thanks to them, and this is still fun!

Craig Sanborn, CHVTC
Trailmaster