Fellow Snowgoers,Of possibly more interest than my whining about snow conditions, are the following, from my Wednesday tour of the Loop:
A: The track and elevation profile. The track is NEW to me. There is a narrow "hairpin" protruding from the south leg of the loop toward the northeast. This is a route that Sam Beard created in the most recent maintenance effort here. His motivation was to eliminate a steep, rough section that is more direct. It's a very effective modification, pleasant to ski, and has the added benefit of good shading from the sun.
The elevation profile shows that this trail is a good candidate for Class 1+ skiing.
B) There were no obstacles on the trail. Thanks to Sam, Bill Savage, Jerry Conner, Michael Arndt, and others who cleared trees, including a "trainwreck" that is now the cleared from the trail as pictured here.
C. It WAS beautiful. East Fork Loop Trail is one of the few in the Jemez that have so far been unaffected by the fires.
Happy Trails,
Mike Meier
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The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, but stranger than we can imagine. J. B. S. Haldane