Trail Conditions for 5-1-20

Happy May 1st, the crew was out all morning opening the winter wildlife closures and seeing what was dry.  The first mile or two of Game Creek is in good shape with just a little compact ice on the first left hand bend.  The lower parts of Wilson Canyon in the sun looked good as well.  As you wrap around Snow King the lower parts of Josies and KC were dry with patches of snow in the trees which is the general trend.  In Cache the Nelson Knoll loop, lower Woods Canyon, Crystal Lite, and Crystal Butte are good to go.  The Sidewalk is also snow free and you can link to the Wiggle and Putt Putt on dry trail.  The crew dug through a few drifts on Putt Putt to speed up the melting and prevent trail damage in the muddy spots below the lingering snow.  Please try to stay on the snow and the trail, many feet and tires help to smooth out the muddy spots as they go from damp to dry.  While the trails are dry enough for hikers and bikers it is still too soon for horses which exert a greater weight on a small surface of the trail and will leave deep prints at this time of year.  If you are out riding try to keep to compact gravel surfaces on the old road grades for another week or so.  Everything else in the shade is spotty and intermittent with snow and mud depending on the time of day.  Saturday should be a good time to get out and explore, but watch the weather on Sunday and Monday and give the trails a few hours after any precipitation as the soils are saturated and don’t dry out as quickly as they do later in the summer.  Have a great weekend!