The unnamed storm that crossed the region on December 18th brought significant rain and winds recorded at ~100 km/h. It has impacted the trails at Woolastook significantly. It has been almost 10 years since post-tropical storm Arthur caused damage on this scale.
River Valley Cycling volunteers began to scope out the situation today. Here’s what they found.
- The Woolastook Park Campground owner has blocked the parking lot at the highway due to concerns over power lines down on the ground.
- There is heavy damage to Split Rail. In spots the trail is difficult to find under the trees. The reports we got today only went as far as the intersection with ‘Rough Start’ because it was very difficult walking.
- Fortunately the impact to the ‘Shoreline’ trail seems to be less intense.
- No reports yet on interior areas like Bev’s Knoll, Kelly’s Creek, or any of our new flow trails.
For now, riders should not expect to find anything passable. It will take a huge volunteer effort to establish the trails again. We hope to open up enough at Woolastook to have a grooming effort for the winter. That’s an achievable goal. Let us know if you would like to help (at Woolastook, or at any other trail system).
We’ll post more as we know more. Some preliminary reports are coming in from MVP and Penniac but we don’t have a clear picture yet.
