Saturday, January 15, 2011

Big Creek, Des Moines/Polk City

The trail was groomed Friday night resulting in a much more compact and level skate surface. The snow wasn't super fast today, but was very controllable  making for a  enjoyable technique workout. The disc golf loop is good+, the lake mostly good with some thin spots that are avoidable, and the prairie good on the north side with some grass and the south side fair with more grass. Be cautious of the tractor ruts (about 50' worth) on the north side west end of the loop. The lake connector has a short very thin area but you can get through. The prairie connector is the poorest section with a lot of grass, but not the kind of stuff to trash your skis ( I just think of it as finishing my wax job with a "grass" brush, or roller skiing with speed reducers on).  The classic track is quite variable from mostly good to fair with some very poor/ non-existent sections which are avoidable. Overall the trail is very skiable. Get out and enjoy!  Kevin