Rockabema Snow Rangers
Trail Report
KATAHDIN LODGE
626 Aroostook Scenic Highway
Moro Plantation, ME. USA 04780
Tel. 1-207-528-7731
FEBRUARY 5, 2013 -
All trails in the Rockabema trail system are open and except for a very few bare spots in the fields near Patten (and some icy places), the riding is excellent! Anyone looking for a good ride would do well to head for the Katahdin region of Northern Maine. Early heavy wet snows that caused headaches with downed trees now seem to be the reason our trails are holding up after the warm wet weather we experienced last week. Early on some areas of our system had so much snow that the large tractor groomers we use were pushing snow up over the nose, making it hard to pack. Up to 32" in places meant that we had a lot of base to rely on when we finally cleared the debris and started regularly scheduled dragging operations. Reports from sledders coming in seem to indicate that from Kokadjo on the west side of Katahdin, all the way to the Oxbow system to the north, is fairly decent riding, with the best being the Northern Katahdin region. Icy spots dictate that speeds must be kept down, and con trol maintained as much as possible to avoid some veryfrozen, hard landings.
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FEBRUARY 2, 2013 -
Although the recent rains have taken their toll on the Rockabema system, our trails have held up rather well. Except for a few bare spots in the fields, the trails are in pretty good shape. The heavy base and heavy duty dragging done with our tractor groomers seems to have kept the trails from melting, especially in the woods. There is one trouble spot on the Big Seboius connector trail #112 west of Patten where water was still running over the trail, but with sub-zero temperatures that should be taken care of. We will be working on that today to clean up the ice that is damming the flow and causing the flooding. Icey spots make the riding dangerous in places if speeds are not kept down, so take your time, look around and enjoy the wintertime scenery!
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JANUARY 25, 2013 -
Efforts are still ongoing in opening up the last ITS trail (#112) towards Island Falls. ITS 81 from Sherman to Patten and on to the Snowshoe Rd. just north of Shin Pond is well groomed. ITS 81/85 continues north on the Snowshoe Rd. until logging on the Lane Brook Rd. is to be completed. ITS conmnector 112 West from Patten to the junction with 85A is well groomed except for a short section of recently opened trail about 1000 ft. long where there is some slow going due to stumps in the trail. Directly west of this new section, the trail parallels an active logging road.
DO NOT USE THIS ROAD
as there are very large logging trucks in the area using this one lane road. ITS 85A from Big Sebois Bridge south to the junction with ITS 83 is well groomed as well.
NOTE:
There are still some "face slappers" and brush in & on the trails as they are still being brought up by the drags. Please help us out when you encounter these by removing them from the trail.
The Rockabema Rangers Snowsled Club grooms more than 100 miles of trails through 10 townships and 2 counties.
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JANUARY 3, 2013 -
Grooming operations have been under way for about a week. Between the holidays and volunteer help, a team has been out trying to clear the trails of thousands of blow downs and broken trees caused by the 24" plus heavy wet snow we received from the storm on Dec. 23rd in addition to the rain from the subsequent storm that froze trees in place, completely blocking many areas of trail. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL ROCKABEMA TRAILS ARE NOT SAFE FOR HIGH SPEED TRAVEL DUE TO BRANCHES HANGING AND IN SOME CASES NEW TREES GOING DOWN ACROSS THE TRAIL.
ITS 81 has been broken out from Sherman Station to Lower Shin Pond, and from there to plowed road on ITS 81/85 (the Lane Brook Road), north of there with some brush left to be removed. The 10 mile stretch around Upper Shin Pond has NOT been groomed. ITS 112 connector trail from Patten west to ITS 85A has been opened up. Be advised that there is still heavy brush to be cut, but it is passable at a slow rate of speed. Also, this stretch has been rerouted to cross pasture land with MANY fences. STAY ON MARKED TRAILS to avoid deadly fence wire.
Please be advised to expect groomers anytime, anywhere. When encountering grooming equipment, always stop and wait for the operator to allow you to pass. Some of this equipment is massive, at 12 feet wide, and at times very unmanuverable.