Keyword Search:       Categories What's Happening? Wildlife Webcams SnoCams Snowmobile Videos Business Members/Lodging Weather Radar Drag For Sale Club Shirts Club Links Blog/Forum Links DCNR Links Meetings emails PSSA Rentals Safety Classes Trail Diary 2010 Trail Diary 2009 Trail Diary 2008 Trail Diary 2007 Trail Diary 2006 Trout Tournament Trail Diary 2008 March 21, 2008 Web Site: www.crossfork.com I was just checking out the other snocams in the area and it looks like Craig still has some snow at his Sweden Hill Snocam. I don't know how far you can go, but there might be a little desperation riding over there. ** If you are going to be in this area next weekend, don't forget the Cross Fork Outdoor Show and the last breakfast of the year for the God's Country Club. They should have there own web-site some time this year and we will probably have a link to them. We are supposed to get a little snow tonight, but not near enough to ride. Click Image March 20, 2008 Web Site: www.poevalleysnowmobileclub.com We are supposed to get some flurries, but nothing to ride on. For those of you that go to the God's Country breakfasts, the last breakfast will be March 30. Ron A. will have something special to show everyone that shows up. That big Elk that has been hanging around the last few months has finally shed his antlers and Ron was the lucky finder. ** I received an e-mail that I would like to share with you. ' Hi John, I want to thank you again for all that you and the club members did to make us feel welcome. This past snowmobiling year was an excellent experience and will always be remembered. It would not have been that way without the PA Grand Canyon Snowmobile Club. When I entered the snowmobiling experience this past year by purchasing a snowmobile, my insurance agent suggested that I belong to a snowmobile club in order to get a reduced rate. Since then I have learned that joining a snowmobile club has many more benefits than just saving on snowmobile insurance. To me just the fellowship alone of other snowmobilers is worth being a member'. Thanks again, Carl C. of Spring Mills, PA (Carl is also a member of the new Poe Valley Snowmobile Club) They were up a few weeks ago and stopped in at our clubhouse for a visit. They have a new website www.poevalleysnowmobileclub.com/ While I was typing this report, I received a long distance call from Carl's cousin John from Snead's Ferry, NC. When I read Carl's letter to John, he said they were his sentiments too. Thanks to both of these great guys.** There was another bear here last night and he must have leaned against my snogage (see snocam) because it is tilted over. There is a light dusting of snow and his tracks are fresh. I try to put some corn out to keep the deer and rabbits coming around the snogage to make it more interesting than just a gage. It's time to stop. there is a lot of browse for the deer due to that ice storm. Brutis will have to move on. Click Image March 17, 2008 Web Site: Happy Saint Patrick's Day! I was just checking the trail diary for last year and we had a foot of snow in 2007. Not so this year. There is still two weeks left in the season, so don't put those sleds away yet. While you are on this site, take out time to look at out trail diarys for the last two years. Also check out our business member section. Support the people who support snowmobiling and your club. Click Image March 15, 2008 I guess the snocam has turned into a 'mudcam'. There is still a slim glimmer of hope for snow before the end of the season. But it doesn't look very good at the present time. We will be driving over to the God's Country breakfast tomorrow morning. This will be the next to last one as they will not be open next Sunday which is Easter. They will be open the last Sunday of the month and then that is it until next year. Don't forget the outdoor show that is coming up in Cross Fork on the 29th at the fire hall. March 13, 2008 We held our monthly meeting last night and the faithful few were there. Ken VanSant came and did some interviews and took some more video footage for his upcoming 'round the County cable TV show. We should have some copies available at the clubhouse after he does some final editing. We have a lot to do in the next few weeks. We have some snow fence to take down after April 1st, and a lot of preparation for our upcoming 18th annual Upper Pine Creek Trout Tournament. This is our main fund raiser and it takes a lot of volunteers and planning. This year, it will be held May 17 & 18. Applications are downloadable from this web site. * I can't forecast anything any better than the weatherman. On our March 6 report I stated that the cowbirds and grackles would be showing up next followed by Brutis near the end of the month. Well, the cowbirds and grackles are late and while I was at the meeting last night, Mrs Brutis showed up early at my house with 3 little ones. The motion light was still on by our garage and I only missed them by a couple of minutes. My wife was excited because her year isn't complete unless she sees a couple of bear. I didn't get any pictures, but I will be keeping the camera handy. Click Image March 12, 2008 I have a report from DCNR that crews are busy clearing roads in the Tioga State Forest both north & south of Route 6. There have been many trees and branches that came down due to ice. There is a lot of loose pieces of ice on top of the snow in the higher elevations. The warming sun yesterday afternoon cleared a lot of ice from the trees. The lesser used snowmobile only trails will probably be the last ones cleared after the joint use state forest roads are cleared. The West Rim Rd. & the Leetonia Rd. are getting pretty thin. The only deep snow is in the higher elevations. We are getting a little light snow right now, but nothing to write home about. We still have a couple of weeks left until the riding season ends on April 1. Click Image March 10, 2008 Our power was off from 1:30pm Saturday until 2:30 pm Sunday. We had trees down all over the place. My wife and I spent an old fashoned evening at home in our rec room near the wood stove playing cards to the light of an oil lamp. The Tri County Electric crews were out all night trying to restore power. There is still a lot of ice on all the trees and I hope it warms up a little before we get some more wind. I was going to go to the God's Country breakfast yesterday, but had too many storm related problems to deal with. I haven't received any trail reports, but I doubt if there were many riders out in that mess.There is a little snow forecast later in the week, but as usual we will have to wait and see. Click Image March 8, 2008 E-Mail: snoguy@chilitech.com Web Site: Heavy Wet Snow & Freezing Rain It is a Currier & Ives type scene out there this morning. The wet snow is stuck to all the trees & bushes. It looks great until some falls off a tree and goes down the back of your neck. How many of you can relate to that? I checked some of the snocams and it looks like we have more snow here at the house than they have in other locations. The only bare spot we have is where the deer were digging. (see snocam) There is more snow in the forecast for this afternoon and evening. I don't have any feedback as far as trail reports yet.* 8:15 am update - It is freezing rain right now and just had a phone call from Judy over near Wellsboro. She doesn't have any snow there at all. 12 noon - One of our guys (Nipper) went over to the clubhouse and he said that there is only about 1/2 inch of snow there. It is raining harder now and the riding would be very poor. Lots of heavy wet slushy snow. * Our groomer chairman, Dave is out in Arizona getting a sunburn watching baseball. He is recovering from an operation and I am glad to see he is getting back in shape. Don't get a neon burn Dave! Click Image March 7, 2008 Web Site: Snow? I just finished checking several weather sites and it looks like we are going to have some snow, but will it be a riding snow? It is still too early to tell. It will start out as rain, then change to freezing rain and then to snow. I can tell you that I was back in my woods and there is still lots of snow there with a icy crust on top. At the present time, there would probably be enough snow for you die-hard riders, but there isn't anything down in the lower elevations. WARNING! We had a lot of ice and downed trees from the last storm and there are probably some of the lesser used trails that have trees across them. If you plan on riding, take a folding saw with you and don't forget there is one heck of a lot of ice under that snow. DCNR was out clearing trees and branches off of the trails and told me it was a real mess! There are probably a lot of 'widow makers' hanging up in those trees, so watch out for them in addition to falling ice. I had a piece of ice hit the back of my hand and it drew blood. There were a lot of complaints about the Francis road being so rough and I spoke to someone in our forestry district (Tioga State Forest) and he explained that they only groom the Francis road between Francis Leetonia road and Bear Run road. I checked the trail map and the western portion of Francis road is in Potter county and the eastern portion dips down into Lycoming county. So if you send any more trail reports to us about Francis road, please try to be a little more specific about where on that road. I know there are a lot of you trying to decide - should I stay or should I go? - Isn't there a song like that? We will update this report as conditions evolve. Reminder! Ansonia gas station is closed for vacation.**UPDATE! It started to rain around 3pm and after about 25 minutes, it started mixing with snow. It is now 5:30 pm and it is snowing so hard, we can't get a satellite signal on the TV dish. We have a couple of inches already and I will update later on this evening.Take a look at our snocam, the ground was bare at 2:41 this afternoon. * 11pm - There is 4 inches of wet snow on the ground here at my home, but after making some calls, there are lesser amounts at some lower elevations. There is more snow forecast for tomorrow. Click Image March 6, 2008 We saw the first red winged blackbird of the season yesterday. Checked notes from previous years and they always come before the grackles and cowbirds. They should be here next week. Towards the end of the month, Brutis usually shows up. * Still watching for the storm that is supposed to come at the end of this week. Still too early to tell what is going to happen. * Received another 'Atta Boy' e mail from a happy sledder. I quote 'I wanted to thank you for posting all the trail reports over the season. This is the best website in North-central PA for snowmobile conditions and links to sno cams. The reports are extremely helpful for those of us who live down state and drive 4 hours to ride. You do a great job! Keep up the good work' unquote, Bob Y. of Bergey's Inc. Bob liked the site so much, he signed up for a business membership. While we are on the subject, check out our new business members. They are not all from up here. They are from all over this state and some nearby states. Support the people that support your club and snowmobiling. Click Image March 5, 2008 Web Site: ICE When we woke up this morning, everything was covered with ice and the power was off. The last time this happened, we only had digital or battery operated clocks in the house. We went to buy a cheap, plain electric clock with hands so we could tell how long the power was off. We had a hard time finding one! We finally did. Our power was off for 3 hours last night. * It was so slippy outside, you could not walk without something to break the ice first. (Slippy! Is that Dutchified or what? Pam?) Still don't know if there will be enough snow to ride this weekend. * I just checked my log from last year. We had 12 inches of snow on march 17. We rode over to the God's Country breakfast on the 18th. We had another inch on the 19th and a plow-able snow on April 12th and another 5 inches on April 16th. You can't ride after April 1st on state land, but I just wanted to point out that the fat lady hasn't sung - YET! Click Image March 3,2008 We lost a lot of snow yesterday. The Colton road was pretty bare from the lookout down to the parking lot. Some snow in the forecast later in the week. Will just have to wait & see. Click Image March 2, 2008 E-Mail: snoguy@chilitech.com There was plenty of snow up on top, but it was getting pretty thin down around Ansonia. I received a report that the Francis rd. was the roughest. The DCNR groomers were out last night and I hope that they got over that way. This was not a good grooming snow. It lacked moisture and did not pack well. We had our groomer over in the Asaph area and I noticed that the snow just kind of crumbled. Ken VanSant came over and did some more footage for the video that he is making about our club. After he was finished, the guys took the groomer back out and did some more grooming on the Right Asaph rd. * Reminder - This is the last weekend that the Ansonia Country Store & Gas Station will be open this season. They are taking a much needed vacation. * If you haven't seen it yet, check out our new snocam and also the links to the other snocams in the area. We welcome all comments about the site and its contents. snoguy@chilitech.com Click Image March 1, 2008 I received a phone call last night from one of our members who was riding with his son yesterday. They left Ansonia and went over towards Leetonia and then over Bear Run rd. to Slate Run rd. They then went up to the trail along route 44 which was rough and bumpy. They made there way over to Hyner View and then after stopping for lunch returned to the canyon area. They said the trails down towards Hyner were very thin. also Painter Leetonia rd. was pretty rough in spots. There was a lot of wind last night and you early riders will probably come across some drifted areas. The curves on Colton rd. were icy and caution should be used between the parking lot and the overlook. Thanks to Jim & June and Keith & Logan for their reports for the last two days. * Keith & Logan will be leaving from the clubhouse to ride over to the God's Country breakfast Sunday morning. I will be staying at the clubhouse to 'man the fort'. * It was 26 degrees at 6am this morning. Sounds cold! Not when you consider the fact that it is 30 degrees warmer than yesterday morning. There is still some more snow on the radar two counties west of us. It should arrive later this am. * 9,049 hits on this site for the month of Feb. That is pretty good when you take in the fact that the server was down for 2 1/2 days. Click Image Feb. 29, 2008 Web Site: Next Feb. 29th report in 4 years! This is the first Feb. 29th report since we got our web site. It looks like we are getting more snow this afternoon and tonight. The groomers will be operating tonight and Saturday night in the Tioga State Forest (The Canyon Area), so please use caution if you are riding at night. I received a reliable, objective report from one of our members who was out riding yesterday. He said all the trails that he rode in the forest were in good shape with the fields being on the thin side. The 2 to 4 inches that we are supposed to get tonight should help that. We will have someone at the clubhouse from 10a til 4p Saturday and 8:30a til about 1 or 2 on Sunday depending on traffic. I will not be able to lead the breakfast ride Sunday morning due to some upcoming surgery. But you can stop in and get a quick cup of coffee before you ride. Take it easy on those curves going up to the Colton overlook. Click Image Feb. 28, 2008 Web Site: More Snow Coming I just got finished checking several weather sites and they all are talking about more snow coming on Friday. Amounts vary with the different sites, but they all look promising. I would start making plans if you haven't already. It will probably be pretty crowded this weekend, so please ride safe and slow down to oncoming traffic and on curves and hill crests. Don't forget there is some ice under that snow and those curves between the parking lot and the Colton Point Lookout can get pretty tricky.**It is 6:00am and zero degrees outside. Global Warming?!?! ** Need a place to stay? Don't forget our business member section for lodging, restaurants, gas and other services. Click Image Feb. 27, 2008 It is 6am and still snowing. I just hope that this will stick around for awhile. The temps are OK for now, but are supposed to warm up next week. we are still having a couple of small problems with our server. I will contact the host later this morning. The snocam is working, but will not connect to the server. It worked fine last night. For now, it looks like a good weekend to ride. * I was checking some other sites and read some of the comments that riders had to say. Some made sense and others were just blowing off steam. What I would like to know is - Where are all these people on our meeting night??? This is like the people who gripe about the government, but don't vote! We still only have a handful of people running this club an doing all the work. If you want to run the groomer, you are going to have to be active in the club, attend meetings, get involved and ride shotgun in the groomer to learn how and where to run the groomer. Click Image Feb. 26, 2008 Web Site: SNOW! Talk about Murphy's law! The web site was down again this morning. Why can't this happen in July? Most of it is back except for when you click on a image, it should get larger, but nothing happens. ** It looks like this is the one we have been waiting for. For all of you that were riding on rocks this past weekend, you shouldn't have a repeat of that this weekend. I know there was snow on top, but you had to come down sooner or later. SNOW is still coming down and we will make updates as things improve. 'IT DO LOOK GOOD' Click Image Feb. 25, 2008 Web Site: Web Site Down! Our web site was down for the weekend. It was not only our site, but the whole network. I am not sure what happened, but it appears that we didn't lose any past data. ** The God's Country snowmobile club had their winter picnic Saturday. They had 240+ show up. A lot of riders arrived on sleds. I was surprised because the trails on the fields and lower elevations were very thin. They had a lot more snow in the woods. They also had a lot of sleds at the Sunday breakfast. Over 200 hungry people came by car and by sled. ** We still have about three weeks left to ride so don't be in too much of a hurry to put those sleds away for the summer. **UPDATE-It looks like we are going to get some more snow-How much? Your guess is as good as the weathermans! We will be posting more updates as things develope.- 10:55pm 2/25/08 Click Image Feb. 22, 2008 Web Site: 5:15am It is snowing lightly and I just finished looking at several forecasts. They have scaled back on the amounts and some are saying 1-3 inches while some others say 2-4 inches. Nowhere near the larger amounts that they were forecasting just a few hours ago. Back to the old wait and see approach! Will update if conditions and/or forecasts change. As of 4pm there was only 'desperation' riding. ** Went by a restuarant and saw some sleds outside. Stopped and asked the riders how things were. One said he burned half his skags off. Others that I spoke to were honest enough to say it was riding, but not the greatest. We had one rider come by the clubhouse this morning to report a tree down across the trail. Dave was there, but he is recovering from an operation and was not up to running a saw. This rider borrowed our saw and went back up the trail, cut the tree and then returned the saw. Our thanks to him for helping out. Unless something happens overnight, we will be going over to the God's Country winter picnic by car,not sled. Click Image Feb. 21, 2008 Web Site: Maybe Some Snow! We were supposed to get a little snow yesterday, but that never happened. It was a beautiful, but cold night to watch the lunar eclipse. I went out on our deck for just a couple of minutes at a time. There is some snow in the forecast for Friday, but I don't want to get my hopes up yet. I just finished checking three different weather sites and there were three different amounts of snow in their forecasts. Will just have to wait and see.****UPDATE - 7:45pm I just checked some forecasts. Now they are saying up to 8 inches in the higher elevations. *** UPDATE! 11:15pm - Nuttin Honey! Not yet - Going to bed _ Will update early am. Click Image Feb. 19, 2008 I feel bad for all the sleders who came up looking forward to a nice long weekend of sledding. At least they had half of the weekend to ride. Sunday was a washout with freezing rain, sleet and rain. Monday arrived with warms temps to melt a lot of snow and ice. The ground was bare last night when I went to bed (see snocam), but we had about an inch of fresh snow on the ground this morning.There might be a little more in the higher elevations, but unless someone sends me a report I have no way of knowing. I guess half of a weekend is better than none at all. As for me, my sledding is over for this year. I have to get an operation on my back next month. Before any of you wise guys say it, it is NOT due to the brand of sled that I ride! Click Image Feb. 17, 2008 It was a great weekend for sledding with most of the trails in very good shape. There was a huge amount of traffic and the trails took a beating after awhile. The DCNR groomer crews were out at night which is the best time to groom for several reasons. They did a good job and we heard very few complaints about trail conditions. * We had our hot dog run at the clubhouse and had a wonderful turnout. Made some new friends and saw some old ones. Ken VanSant came out and took some more footage for his 'round the County cable tv show. He got some great shots and did some interviews with some very happy riders. We got some strange looks with him sitting on our tow-sled on a chair facing backwards with his video camera as we drove around the trails. He would like to get some video of our groomer running if we get some more snow to run it. One of our guys took it out for a few hours, but there wasn't enough snow in many spots to run it. Saturday evening my friend Doug from Johnstown and I stopped to get something to eat on the way home. Some riders came in and I asked them about their day's ride. They were from Lancaster and had just ridden up from Haneyville to Ansonia. A long ride! There was no gas available and they were in a bind because they didn't have enough gas for the return trip. I had some extra gas in the back of my truck and we made a deal. I hope they made it all the way back to Haneyville without any problems. It is a shame that the weather took a turn for the worse Sunday morning with freezing rain, sleet, warmer temps and wind. * Even with the ugly weather they served over 300 breakfasts at the God's Country Snowmobile Club. * Don't forget their winter picnic next Saturday. Click Image Feb. 15, 2008 We met at the clubhouse and there was a couple of our business members there to ride with us. Jim & Betsy from Bear Valley Candles. We had not met these folks before and were glad to have them join us. We had received an e mail the night before alerting us to the fact that there were 2 trees down across our trail behind the clubhouse. We went west on the trail and located the problem and cut the trees off of the trail. We also had an e mail the night before alerting us to the fact that the gate at the bridge at Ole' Bull State park was closed and locked. The park was notified and the gate was unlocked. The reason that the gate was locked was that there was flooding and high water and it was not safe to cross. After the water subsided, the gate was opened. Another reason to join a snowmobile club! We try and take care of these little problams that crop up from time to time.** We rode over Thompson Hollow Rd. and up the hill to the Germania area for lunch. On the return trip, we went over Cedar Mt. rd. to Leetonia and then back towards the canyon. The stretch of Painter Leetonia rd. from Leetonia to West Rim rd was not groomed and pretty rough. Other than that, all the trails were groomed and smooooth. The groomer guys will hit that stretch tonight. As usual the stretch between the parking lot at Ansonia and the overlook at Colton Point State P was thin and icy in the turns. **Take Note! The Ansonia Country Store and gas station will be closed from March 5th until the end of the month. Click Image Feb. 14, 2008 Web Site: Happy Valentine's Day! SNOW TIME! Time to get your reservations made, snow is here! If your favorite place is filled up, check out some of the new business members that we have. Groomers are out and running and will be running Friday and Saturday night. A few of us from the club are going out today. Don't forget our monthly meeting tonight at the clubhouse -- 7:30 pm ****Also will be having our hot dog run Saturday at the clubhouse. Stop in for a free hot dog! Also the Sunday morning breakfast ride from our clubhouse over to the Gods Country Breakfast. Meet at our clubhouse at 8:30 - We will then swing buy the DCNR parking lot to pick up some riders there and then on to the clubhouse. This site will be updated late tonight. Click Image Feb. 12, 2008 Web Site: www.pagrandcanyonsnowmobileclub.com/kabcam I received a report from one of our members who went riding Sunday afternoon over towards Cherry Springs. He and another member showed up at the breakfast at closing time and it was too late for them to get something to eat. According to him, the riding was great. I think he is going to have to learn to be a little more objective when it comes to trail conditions. He went on to say that they had more snow over that way, but the trails were thin and icy in spots and they spun out a couple of times. The pipeline and fields where the wind blew were almost bare. Trails that are thin,icy and ungroomed might be good, but not great! * It looks like we are going to get some snow this afternoon and Might be able to ride later this week. Will know better tomorrow. Next trail report will be Wednesday afternoon or early evening. * I see that I am going to have to make some adjustments to the clubcam. The deer, rabbits, squirrels and birds have the snow all packed down by the gage. I will move the feeders a few feet to the rear of the gage. - I forgot to add my big feet to the list. When I fill the feeders, I will approach them from the rear. * If we still have snow by Saturday, we will be having the hot dog run at the clubhouse. Stop in for a free hot dog. Click Image Feb. 10, 2008 Web Site: pagrandcanyonsnowmobileclub.com/kabcam We stopped at the Ansonia DCNR parking lot this morning on the way over to the God's Country breakfast. There were no trailers there. We stopped at the gas station when we saw a few sledders there and they said they were going over to marshlands to park and sled from there. We met up with them at the breakfast and they told us that the riding was good up on top, but thin at the lower elevations. When we left the breakfast (They served 130 today), the wind was blowing so hard, we had to sit there for a few minutes before we could see the road. We also had to stop a couple of times to let the wind die down due to zero visibility. After we got off of the top of the ridge, it was OK the rest of the way back to Ansonia. I debated in my mind if I wanted to go sledding or not. I decided to wait for better conditions. When you are retired and live up here, you can afford to pick and choose if you want to ride or not. If I only had the weekend off from work, I would have probably have gone out myself. But, it would not have been great riding by any stretch of the imagination. I hope to be able to ride later in the week. ** I hope you had a chance to check out our club's new snocam. I have to make some adjustments in alignment and some other details. I had a suggestion from my friend Linn from Slatedale to include the American flag with the snogage. I did this, but it did make the deer a little spooky at first. They got used to it after awhile. Feb. 9, 2008 E-Mail: Club Snocam Finally On Line Web Site: pagrandcanyonsnowmobileclub.com/kabcam There is still not quite enough snow to ride in this area but there is an ice base and snow showers are in the forecast for the next week. Maybe there will be enough snow for next weekend. If there is, we will be having a hot dog run at the clubhouse on route 6. ** We finally got our snocam hooked up at my house. I live about 20 miles north of our clubhouse at about 1810' altitude. I have been working on this for a couple of weeks and couldn't have done it without the help of Bill and Craig from the Snocams and Rodger from the Visitor's Network. Thanks guys! I still have some tweeking to do, but the worst is over. Hopefully, we will be able to get one hooked up at the clubhouse Feb. 7, 2008 We had thunderstorms and heavy rain last night. I have never seen it rain that hard and then freeze as soon as it hit the ground. All the trees and fields are coated with ice (again). There is some snow in the forecast, but nothing big for now. Will update if the forecast changes. * Nature Note - Most of the bucks that are coming to the feeder are 'bald' now. There was one 4 point that still had his headgear last night. Click Image Feb. 4, 2008 We drove over to the God's Country breakfast Sunday morning. There were a few die hard riders that came by sled. We spoke to one that said his sled overheated 3 times between the Ansonia parking lot and the overlook at Colton Point State Park. Not enough loose snow on top of that ice to cool the sled! * There were over 110 at the breakfast including Bob Kirchner, President of the Pennsylvania State Snowmobile Association (PSSA). They do a great job supporting snowmobiling, but even Bob couldn't bring us some snow. If you aren't a member of PSSA, you should join. They have a lobbyist in Harrisburg that works for the best interest of snowmobilers and the sport. * There is warmer weather coming for the next couple of days, but the snow word is back in the forecast for later in the week. Click Image Feb. 2, 2008 Web Site: Groundhog's Day We have a lot of ice which would serve as a base, but there is no snow on top of it to lubricate your track. Strickly for diehards only! We wanted to sled over to the God's Country breakfast tomorrow morning, but for now it will be by car. Click Image Jan. 31, 2008 Web Site: Doesn't Look Good! There is some sleet, ice & snow in the forecast, but it doesn't look like the amounts that would interest you faithful that are looking at this right now. If there is any change, or anything worthwhile as far as snow amounts, it will be posted here.**Hooking up this snowcam at the house is a bigger challenge then I thought it would be. Still working at it! Click Image Jan. 29, 2008 We drove over to the God's Country breakfast last Sunday. There were a couple of sleds there, but the trails were pretty bare. We need some more snow! The club served 190 breakfasts a week ago and were up to 140 this week when we left.**Over 7000 hits on this site just this month! * There are no big snows in the forecast for this week, so it looks like our hot dog run scheduled for this coming Saturday might be postponed until Feb. 16. (If we have snow) Will update later in the week.**Update - I called the forestry office over at Denton Hill and informed them about the tree that is down across the trail. They thanked me for calling and assured me that it would be taken care of. Click Image Jan. 26, 2008 Web Site: I found some snow! I was emailing Craig (who has the Sweden Hill Snocam) and we were discussing the new snocam that I am trying to set up at my house. He has a camp over in Potter County and told me that there was enough snow over there to ride. I wasn't aware of this and we made arrangements to meet and ride for a bit. I met him (for the first time) at the DCNR parking lot on Denton Hill. We rode out to Keener's Kountry Store where he got some fuel and I asked the Keeners if they wanted to renew their business membership for 2008. They said yes and had been waiting for me to stop by. This is the first time this year that I have had a chance to ride over that way and was glad to see the Keeners again. Nice People! After leaving there we rode over past Cherry Springs State Park and down Junction Rd. to the old switchback and then went down Boone Rd. to Short Run Rd. I checked on a couple of my friends camps for them and them we went down Cross Fork Creek Rd. to Junction Rd. and back to Denton Hill. The trails were not groomed and were thin and bony in spots but were not as rough as I thought they might be. It was not the best of riding conditions, but I have seen a lot worse and I was getting cabin fever and was glad to be able to ride. When we got back to Potato City, I saw some sleds gassing up. I thought they they had stopped selling gas but that is not the case. A 50 mile ride today.**Caution note** There is a tree down across the trail between where it crosses route 44 at the ATV trailhead and Cherry Springs Park. You can get over this tree, but if you do not go very slow, you might damage your sled or your body. Use Caution!!! Click Image Jan. 25, 2008 Web Site: 2:30 pm update There is not a cloud in the sky and it would be a beautiful day to ride. IF THERE WAS SOME SNOW! I don't see anything promising in the forecasts. Sorry! ** We are working to get a web/sno cam hooked up at my house. The clubhouse is about 25 miles southwest of my home and I do all the web reports from here. Hope to have it up and running shortly. Click Image Jan.23, 2008 Web Site: Think Snow! I just finished checking weather and snow reports and there is nothing to shout about. There is a storm coming up the coast Thursday, but for now it looks like it will be too far east for us. * Our new sledding buddies that we met in December, Carl from State College and John, his cousin from North Carolina, showed up at Tom's house last night looking for snow.Since they had this vacation planned in advance,they are continuing further north on their quest for snow.There is nothing in PA for now. They tried to talk us into joining them. It was tempting, but no can do. I wonder how Wilmer and the guys are making out up in Canada? * Ron Andrus showed me a couple of pictures of that big bull Elk that has been hanging out over the southwestern area of Tioga County. Awesome! *** UPDATE ---Received an email from Mike W. of York that Wilmer & Barney have clocked up over 4000 miles up in Canada and are back in the area for a little while. Click Image Jan. 20, 2008 Web Site: small areas of snow There was some light snow last night which was a little heavier in some areas. There might have been a few spots where you could have ridden, but not many. We went to the God's Country breakfast this morning. They served over 150. Not bad for no snow. There are two nice articles about snowmobiling and our club in todays' Williamsport Sun-Gazette - Outdoor section. They are written by Eric Long who usually gives our trout tournament a nice write up in the spring. Thanks, Eric Click Image Jan. 19, 2008 Web Site: Hot Dog Run We had free hot dogs available to those who chose to come out in the cold temps and stop in at the clubhouse for a visit. We did not have a big turn-out and the next hot dog run will be a SNOW ONLY event. However, we had some members stop in and renew their memberships for 2008 and enjoy their clubhouse. Tony & family from Levittown, Mark & family from Dover and a couple of future members (we hope) from Lancaster. There were also a few local members present. The next hot dog event will be Feb. 2, 2008 (Groundhogs Day) If there is no snow, the snow date will be Feb. 16. ** Some of our guys will be meeting tomorrow morning and going over to the God's Country breakfast by motor vehicle. Bummer! Not the breakfast, the means of getting there! Jan. 18, 2008 Web Site: Not enough snow, YET! It is late Thursday night and I am writing the Friday morning report because there are so many hopefuls out there hitting on this site and have also had some calls. As of now, there is not enough snow on the ground to ride. However, the snow word is in the forecast for every day but Monday. There is no white stuff predicted for Monday. The snow that is in the forecast is mostly just snow showers and nothing major. If we should get enough to ride, it will be posted ASAP. If you are in the area, don't forget our hot dog run at the clubhouse on Saturday 10a - 3p. Jan. 17, 2008 Web Site: Colder temps - but no snow! We are getting back to normal with the colder temps, but there is nothing more than snow showers forecast for the next few days. We are having a hot dog run at the clubhouse this Saturday, snow or no! 10am til 3pm. Stop in for a free hot dog and stay for a visit.************This Sunday's Williamsport Sun-Gazette newspaper should feature an article about snowmobiling and some of the clubs in the area. I spoke to the writer, Eric Long and he was trying to get everything together for his deadline. Hope he made it! Click Image Jan. 14, 2008 Web Site: Not Yet! Have been getting a lot of hits today from our friends out there looking to hear some good snow related news. Nuttin Honey! Not yet anyway. We only have a trace of snow on the ground and while there are snow showers in the forecast, there is nothing of any significance in the forecast. Did I just use that word? What I meant to say is there aint no snow! Don't give up hope. These winter storms can get organized and move up from the gulf very rapidly. Had a phone call from our pal, John down south in Carolina wanting to get a snow report. He is coming north next week and wants some snow. Those southerners have no patience when it come to snow! Neither do us yankee sled heads! Received another nice e mail from Dave & Sue (David & Susanne) from Kutztown, PA - 'Keep up the good work & the excellent website'. Thanks Dave & Sue! If we keep getting these nice compliments about the web site, I might have to buy a larger size helmet to fit my swelled head! Just kidding, I have a big enough head now. If we get any snow, it will be posted here, ya hear! Click Image Jan. 13, 2008 E-Mail: snoguy@chilitech.com Web Site: Weather Update It is early Sunday morning and I just finished checking various weather sites on the net. Three different forecasts for the same area! Take your pick! We have rain on one, 1 - 2 inches of snow on another and 1 -3 on yet another one.**********We have had a few new faces at our last couple of meetings. We need more 'hands on' members to help us with the operations of the club. Thanks to the riders that responded to our request for new members. There are still a lot of old family and business members who have not renewed their memberships yet. We still have the expenses of operating the club and clearing the trails, snow or no snow. We received a nice e mail from Bruce and Caroline of York, PA and I quote 'Appreciate your web site! Keep up the good work! We like your reporting it as it is! Still waiting for that Big One! Think Snow!' Thanks Bruce & Caroline! ************************Because of a lack of traffic, our clubhouse hours will be 11am - 3pm on Sat. only. If you have any thoughts on this, please email us.**** Also, any other comments about the club or web site are always welcome. Click Image Jan. 8, 2008 I wasn't going to bother putting any trail reports for the next few days because of a lack of snow cover, but judging from the number of hits that are on the site today, you either believe that the tooth fairy is going to bring us snow in these warm temps or you are checking to see if there is something new on this site. For those of you that are interested in voting and the government (I hope that this is a lot of you), there is a state senate bill that we should support. Senate bill 497 (Recreational Use Bill) in its original form would protect landowners from paying huge legal fees when being sued by persons using their land and the suers lose, but the landowners still have to pay to defend themselves. The original bill had some key parts omitted by one of the sponsors. The PSSA urges you to support the amendment by Senator Robbins that includes the terms - Snowmobile, ATV and motorcycle riding. Please contact your state senator and express your opinion about this matter. We are losing landowner permission to ride because of fear of lawsuits. Click Image Jan. 7, 2008 It looks like we are going to have to start from scratch as far as snow cover goes. Warm temps and rain in the forecast for the next few days. Not to worry! The 'S' word is back in the forecast for later in the week. As of now, it doesn't look like there will be any accumulations to speak of, but it's a start! Our monthly meeting is this Thursday night ---7:30 pm at the clubhouse on route 6. If you are in the area, come and stop in. We need some more active members. We will be amending some of our by-laws concerning the number of directors due to a lack of support.*** This web-site had 2215 hits last week.*** While you are visiting this site and waiting for some more snow, take time to look over the rest of our site. Our business member section has a little something for everybody. Lodging, restaurants, shopping and other services. Support the people that support snowmobiling! Click Image Jan. 5, 2008 Web Site: Warmer temps coming! The weather forecast doesn't look good for the next five days. It is supposed to cool down later in the week. We got a call yesterday afternoon about a tree across our railroad trail behind the clubhouse. Didn't have a saw with us, will tend to it today. Another service of your club. We have had 1896 hits on this site this week as of 11:00 am this morning. The weekly record is 1962 set last Feb. I know that a lot of you are not members and use this site often. Please show your support by becoming a family member for $10 or a business member for $25. Cheap! We could use the money for a new chainsaw, trail clearing equipment, tools for maintaining the trail signs and groomer and other expenses. There is a membership form down loadable and printable on this site. Thanks for your support.*** Caution! There is one more week remaining in the muzzle loader season. Be on the lookout for slow moving vehicles. I am not anti-hunter, but road hunting is illegal and besides creating a hazard, they are tearing up the trails.** In the picture, you will see Tom, who says he looks like 'Buddha' is trying out a rig that we made for Ken VanSant - who is going to produce a video about snowmobiling for a local cable T V network.-Blue Ridge cable.*******UPDATE** Two of our guys (Tom & Dick) went out today and cut that tree off of the railroad trail that goes behind our clubhouse. Click Image Jan. 4, 2008 Web Site: Trails getting thin! After doing some chores at the clubhouse, Tom & I set out towards Haneyville. The Colton rd. from the parking lot up to the overlook is thin and the curves are icy. Use caution! Most of the trails in the higher elevations in the canyon area were groomed. That's an Atta boy for Dave from DCNR, but it only takes one AH SHUCKS to wipe out a ton of Atta boys. This is a family site! When Tom and I got to Leetonia, we met a rider from Horseheads, New York who had missed a turn and was trying to find his way to Germania to meet up with some friends. We gave him a map and directions and he went on his way. We then went over to the Slate Run rd. area, it was very thin and bony. We went up to the Manor Fork Trail and It was OK part of the way. The further South we went, the thinner and bumpier it got. We bumped into some friends from Germania and compared trail conditions. We decided to return via a different route on Benson rd. over to Robinson rd. and up Whitman rd. to the pipeline. We stopped to check the tire pressure and watched as six sleds came down the pipeline and blew through that stop sign like it wasn't even there. This would be a good spot for the rangers to sit and watch. We don't need riders like that out on our trails. The pipeline does not have the right of way, the forest roads do! Enough preaching for now. We were glad to get back to the Tioga State Forest where most of the trails were groomed. The pipeline was also groomed by the guys from Cross Fork. I also spoke to a buddy of mine that went over towards Cherry Springs. He said the riding was good. The bottom line is, -- Stick to the higher elevations until we get some more snow. A 90 mile ride today Click Image Jan. 4, 2008 Web Site: Night Ride! We didn't ride today, but I had heard that the trails were a little smoother today than yesterday and one of our members (Roy) elected to ride with me over to the God's Country/Black Forest snowmobile club meeting tonight. The temps were down there, but the ride was beautiful! The trails were a lot smoother than yesterday and the DCNR groomers were out getting the trails ready for the weekend. I just hope that it doesn't warm up too much. When we went out, the Ridge rd. was the roughest, but the groomer has since been through there. I had told some riders that we would be having a breakfast ride this Sunday over to God's Country S.C. I am sorry, but I can't make it and other members already had plans made to take their 'Ribs' by car. In other news, the God's Country club has received word that their grant request for some groomer funds had been awarded. I know that Pam and her daughter and other people in the club had worked hard for two years to get this grant. Now all they need is the check. I hope the groomer prices don't go up too much while the red tape is clearing. NOTICE! For those of you that ride over in the Carter Camp area, the folks that own the old store, I think it is called Carter Camp Lodge now, (not sure really) have stated that they do not want snowmobiles crossing their property, but are willing to rent rooms to snowmobilers. ?? If you are using the trail between the Germania area and points West, stay on the trail that takes you over Bloss Hollow rd. and up that way to get to Short Run rd.****** Pam had some videos of that big bull Elk that has been seen in Eastern Potter and Western Tioga counties. He is a beaut!***** Most of the trails were hard packed snow with not a lot of powder to cool things down. Just a 40 mile ride tonight. Jan. 2, 2008 Web Site: Rough ride today! We met at the West rim entrance to the canyon and proceeded towards Slate Run. After riding only about 10 miles, one of our members decided it was too rough and he returned home. As it turned out, we should have all done the same thing. On our outbound trip, none of the trails were groomed and all were rough. I have seen them worse, but not this season. When we got to the Slate Run area, the trails were very thin. We decided to head for higher ground and went up Slate Run rd. to route 44. We headed North on the rt. 44 trail towards the pipeline crossing at Pine Mountain Summit. This trail was a little bumpy, but I have seen it much, much worse. We went down the Rauch rd. towards Germania. It wasn't bumpy but it was thin in spots. After lunch we went out through the fields past the God's Country snowmobile club and over to Ridge rd. The fields were OK but Ridge rd. was rough! When we got out to Cedar Mountain rd., it had been groomed but was still a little bumpy, not at all like the trails that we rode on two weeks ago. We bumped into two couples that are members of our club and we swapped trail condition reports with them. The trails were groomed all the way back to the parking lot, but were still a little bumpy. Rough enough that we decided not to ride tomorrow. Maybe it will take more than one pass with the groomer to get it smooth. A 78 mile trip. Click Image Jan. 1, 2008 Web Site: Happy New Year! One of our members was out riding yesterday with some guests from down state. She said the riding wasn't bad once you got to the higher elevations. They went up Mill Run rd. to Cedar Mountain rd., then down to Leetonia rd. Leetonia rd. was plowed, so they turned around and came back to Ridge rd. and over to Wilson Point rd. They went over to the pipeline and rode there for awhile and then returned home. It is snowing right now and also pretty windy. I hope we get the 2 - 4 inches as promised. Planning on riding tomorrow morning. ** MEETING REMINDERS**The God's Country/Black Forest meeting is this Thursday at 7:30 and our meeting is next Thursday at 7:30. Also, the God's Country/black Forest all you can eat breakfasts will start this coming Sunday morning. We will ride over from our clubhouse on route 6 if we have enough snow. Will leave clubhouse at 8:30 and pick up other riders at the Colton Point parking lot. Click Image Dec. 30, 2007 Web Site: Snow is in the forecast! The 'S' word is in the forecast again. Yesterday they said 1 - 3 inches, today 2 - 4 inches with 3 to 5 on the hilltops. Time will tell. Besides monitoring weather forecasts, I also get news flashes about snowmobiling from all over the USA and Canada. It seems like rider behavior is the biggest problem everywhere. That goes for other forms of motorized recreation too! Please stay on the marked trails. IF you have permission to go across private land, stay along the edges of fields and don't drive through the middle. Just because you see tracks from someone elses sled doesn't mean that it is OK to ride there. And when you have permission, this doesn't mean for a lifetime. Things change from year to year, crops, land ownership, owners attitude caused by litterers and other problems. These common sense rules apply to hunters & hikers too! Click Image Dec. 27, 2007 Web Site: More Elk Sightings! I received a phone call from Pam Andruss stating that she and husband Ron (owners of Ron Andruss logging & firewood co.) had both seen a beautiful bull Elk last night in Elk Township, (where else?) Tioga County PA. Pam is the president of the God's Country/Black Forest Snowmobile club and I consider her to be a very reliable source. I also was talking to 'Bubba' of 'Bubbaburger' fame and he reports that there have been several young bulls seen in the Cross Fork area. The PA Wilds have it all!! Click Image Dec. 27, 2007 It looks like there will be no decent riding conditions for the rest of this week. Forecast for next week looks a little better. Don't forget to check out our business member section. While we are on the subject, where else can you get an ad on the net for less than fifty cents a week and support your snowmobile club at the same time? Sign up for 2008 now. Over 5000 hits on this site so far this month! ************The definition of a flashlight = a place where you store dead batteries! Don't forget to check out that little emergency flashlight that you carry on your sled. Also it is a good time to change smoke detector batteries and either buy a spare or replace those hard to find camera batteries. Click Image Dec. 25, 2007 Web Site: Merry CHRISTmas The officers and Directors of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon Snowmobile Club would like to wish all of you a very merry CHRISTmas and a happy, snowy new year.********* Santa wasn't the only visitor that we had last night. Brutis was out there sometime during the night and left his tracks in the snow. Doesn't he know he's supposed to be hibernating? Click Image Dec. 24, 2007 It rained pretty hard yesterday and took away a lot of our snow. When I woke up this morning, everything was white again. Not enough to ride, but enough for CHRISTmas. I hope this is not a repeat of two years ago when we had a nice early snow followed by a snow drought in Jan. & Feb. Click Image Dec. 22, 2007 E-Mail: snoguy@chilitech.com Web Site: First Day of Winter It is only the first day of winter and we have ridden 339 miles this past week in only 4 days of riding. That is a lot for some of you, and not enough for others. Today the riding should be good if the rain holds off. It will be a little on the warm side, so don't put too many clothes on. It is supposed to get colder tomorrow night and we can only hope that we don't lose too much snow. We would appreciate hearing from those of you that did get a chance to ride today. Let us know how the trails were. A membership in our club would make a great last minute CHRISTmas present for a friend or loved one. Application is downloadable from this site. Click Image Dec. 21, 2007 No riding for me today. Getting ready for a house full of family coming for the Christmas weekend. Weather forecast does not look good for snowmobilers. Warmer temps and rain. We will have to wait and see what next week brings. Have a safe and wonderful Christmas and say a prayer for our troops where ever they may be. *************Update - Received an e mail from one of our members that he did get out today. He said the riding was great, but was starting to get thin in the lower elevations. He was hoping to spot those Elk, but no luck! He rode 126 miles. Click Image Dec. 20, 2007 E-Mail: Check out these Awesome Elk We met at the West Rim entrance to the canyon and proceeded towards Pine Mountain Summit where route 44 and the pipeline intersect. We crossed Route 44 and proceeded down the pipeline towards Cross Fork. I was a little worried about the trails being bumpy as I have been having back problems. I had already told the guys that I would be turning back if the trails got too rough. Not to worry, the pipe line was groomed all the way to Cross Fork. (Atta Boy,Denny) We went to Deb's for lunch and she had just made a fresh pot of chicken corn soup. When I lived in Lancaster County, almost every place you went had chicken corn soup. Well Deb's is one of the best. After lunch we returned towards Pine summit and our clubhouse on route 6. We didn't know that we were in for a big surprise. While traveling the pipeline, we came across two beautiful bull elk. They watched us for a bit, but when we tried to get closer for a better picture, they took off. I really miss my old camera with the 10x zoom. The trails were some of the best that we have ridden in a long time. What a great early Christmas present. Notice I didn't say 'holiday present' I said Christmas present. A 101 mile trip Click Image Dec. 18, 2007 Kudos to the grooming crews from the Tioga State Forest District. most of the trails that we traveled today were freshly groomed. The ones that were not groomed were not rough. We went out Thompson Hollow Rd. and then went up Cedar Mt. rd. and over towards Pine Mountain Summit at Rt. 44 and the pipeline. Came back down the Rauch Rd. to Germania for lunch. The Rauch Rd. was in the best shape that I have seen it in quite awhile. After lunch, we came back past the God's Country club and over Ridge Rd. and then back to Colton Point. A 67 mile trip. Click Image Dec. 17, 2007 We met at 9:00am and 6 of us decided to travel down toward Haneyville. We bumped into our two friends that we rode with on Saturday. They were on their way to meet some other people and rode with us for awhile. The trails in the Tioga State Forest were in good shape except for Bear Run Rd. which seems to be rough most of the time. The roughest trail that we encountered was one further south along route 44. Unless you can catch that trail when it has been recently groomed, it is one to avoid. It is usually very rough. We traveled down Trout Run Rd. and then up the Narrow Gauge Rd. They were a little rough, but bearable. On the return trip the upper half of Manor Fork Rd.had just been groomed and the groomer then went down Slate Run Rd. to Slate Run. We went down there to get some gas. Some dummy forgot to fill up before we started out this morning. (ME) On the return trip to the canyon we went up the Fahneystock Rd. to the West Rim Rd. and followed a freshly groomed trail all the way back to the canyon. Two thumbs up to the DCNR groomer crews who did a great job on the trails today. A 107 mile trip Click Image Dec. 16, 2007 We had planned on riding again this morning, but we are getting freezing rain & sleet. It is supposed to change back to snow later on this afternoon. It should make for some good riding tomorrow. The forecast for later this week doesn't look good at the present time. Will have to wait & see. Click Image Dec. 15, 2007 E-Mail: You Snooze - You Lose For those of you that did not bother to come up sledding this weekend, SUFFER! You missed out on some great riding. Tom, Dick & yours truly had to take care of some last minute trail tweaking that had to be done. We have people say 'Why should I join a club' One of the many, many reasons that the average rider doesn't even notice is the very trails that they are riding on! When you are riding on trails that cross private property. It is the clubs that make sure that the owners have their property rights respected or the trails would be closed. Enough of that. After our work was done, we had a couple of riders stop by the clubhouse and asked about lodging and places to ride. We told them of the many choices of places to stay and they elected to stay near the clubhouse so that they could come back and ride with us. Carl, from State College and his cuz, John from North Carolina went for a ride with Tom & I out thru Leetonia and over Bear Run Rd. towards Slate Run. The trails were in great shape for not being groomed. When we got closer to Slate Run, the road was bare in the middle, but the edges had enough snow with a layer of ice underneath to get down to the Hotel Manor. After a brief stop, we decided to get back to Ansonia before it got too late. It is snowing now as I do this report and we might go back out tomorrow, depending on the weather. That's all folks! A 66 mile trip Click Image Dec. 14, 2007 E-Mail: snoguy@chilitech.com Web Site: 10:am Friday We have SNOW! A little advise- not all of the gas stations on the trails honor credit cards. Make sure you have some cash to pay for your fuel. Speaking of cash, Nipper, our fund raising chairman says the 50/50 pot is getting fat. We will be drawing the winning ticket 3:oopm Sunday at the clubhouse on route 6. Stop in and say hello to Ralph & Marie, our kitchen chairpersons and get a bite to eat and buy some 50/50s from Nipper. Click Image Dec. 5, 2007 E-Mail: pagcsc@gmail.com The trails don't open until Dec. 9th and it looks like the first trail report of the season is not a good one. There are some full time residents near Leetonia that want the Leetonia road plowed. The township (Elk) has no choice in this matter and must plow the road. The Leetonia road is listed as S.R. 3001 on the snowmobile maps. While this is a state route, the state turned it over to the township several years ago for routine maintenance. The road signs say it is route # 801. This causes a lot of confusion. Also adding to the confusion is the names of the roads in the area. There is Leetonia road, Painter Leetonia road and Francis Leetonia road. Then you also have Francis road to add to the mess. UPDATE-- Had a few questions about where the plowing would be going on. It looks like Leetonia rd. will be plowed from Leetonia North towards Marshlands. You should be able to come over Painter-Leetonia rd. and turn left (South) on Leetonia rd. to get to Bear run rd. and points South. Click Image