Trail Conditions - Theodore Wirth

[OCary]

Too wet. Given the amount of precipitation in the past few days and the temps, the absolute earliest I think riding anything might be possible would be Sunday. Sunday is the absolute perfect case everything is fantastic estimate. And it is supposed to snow tonight.

Today is definitely too wet. Please steer clear.

[manual63]

The trails are very wet and not getting time to dry out with the colder damp weather and occasional rain or snow. It's possible they will not be open until we get a good solid snowfall with colder weather. We will have another update after the raking party on Sunday. Please stay off the trails until we state they are good to ride. Thanks!

[manual63]

Still closed. We had some light snow that will melt as the temps go above freezing. I will post up an update during the raking party to see when and if the trails will open soon.

[manual63]

Trails are still pretty damp. If we don't get more precip they should be okay mid day Monday.......maybe in time for OHC.....:-)
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[JRH]

We did not recieve any of the moisture at Theo like was seen in St. Paul this morning (7:45am). There was no moisture present on the ground. Hopefully ridable later on today.

[OCary]

I just checked the trail. ~2pm. There are significant sections of wet, greasy, muddy trail. Please stay off.

As of Monday @ 2pm, trail is to be considered closed.

[Mindsai]

Has anyone been out to Theo yesterday to see if the ground is frozen enough to ride yet? It has been pretty cold the last two nights and today's weather forecast says it should hover around freezing temps during the day.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated-

[Mountain Jam]

I rode yesterday in the early afternoon, trail was in great shape no slick sections everything was frozen stiff.

Was sad to see someone chopped down two trees in the extremely tight section after the rotting tree, now anyone can make it through there...:cryin:

[manual63]

Trails are closed if they are wet. They tend to be wet when it is hovering around 32 degrees. Please only ride them when it's below 30 and not sunny. The sun will thaw the trail in areas even if it's well below freezing.

Keep in mind, even if the trail has no standing water, it could still be soft and be damaged by riding it. This time of year there is a lot of ground moisture, so precip isn't needed to make the trail too wet to ride.

[egoo]

Rode on Wednesday night. Everything hard and frozen. Should stay that way until Saturday afternoon. As for the downed trees in the tight section, I think you should blame that big 10 point buck that lives in the park. Take a look at 'em!

[jitterjepp]

Rode on Wednesday night. Everything hard and frozen. Should stay that way until Saturday afternoon. As for the downed trees in the tight section, I think you should blame that big 10 point buck that lives in the park. Take a look at 'em!

I'll deal with that tomorrow. ;)

[JRH]

Rode tonight (6:00 pm) and the trail is frozen. Overnight temps will be the coldest yet and snow looks like its staying south of the metro for tomorrow. Awesome night ride, cold and quiet.

[JRH]

8:00am- We received accumulated snow overnight at Theo. Be cautious of temps and sun today since it will probably melt if it gets above 32F with direct sunlight. Will report later on this afternoon after checking the trail on foot.

[manual63]

Right now is a prefect example of when it would be a bad idea to go ride the trails. Light snow melting because it's hovering around 32 and it's sunny. Please do not ride the trail in these conditions, wait until later in the evening after the sun goes down and the temps drop.....or wait until early the next morning if you want to ride in daylight....as long as it's been well below freezing all night.....it should be solid in the early mornings.

[Mr. LH]

I rode the trail last night after dark. Hard as a rock. I checked very carefully the condition of the areas where the soil is darkened from moisture before I rode. No tread marks were being left.

Even though the air temperature was above the freezing, the ground must have stayed below, because in areas where the sun didn't hit, there was still trace evidence of snow.

To the the leaf raking crew: Thank you. The trail was completely free of leaves. Sorry I have not been able to contribute much lately.

[Bayou]

Rode the trail last night, was awesome, really smooth, dry, hard... Thanks so much for taking the leaves off, great job

[Yikes]

I hit the trail yesterday (Thanksgiving day) at about 2pm. It was fantastic. I've seen golf courses that were not groomed as well.

The trail was solid everywhere, no soft spots, and nearly clear of all leaves.

[soupboy]

And today? A little snow and temps projected to stay <32d.

[JeremiahJ]

And today? A little snow and temps projected to stay <32d.

rode this morning, a little slick, but rideable (keep an eye on the roots). once it gets packed down and receives another layer of snow it will be better.

[manual63]

I was at the trail this morning. It's quite solid with a light snow covering right now. It didn't seem too icy under the snow, but still be careful. As long as it stays colder like this, the trail should be good and a lot of fun to ride.

Same rules as always. If parts of the trail start to thaw because of higher temps or direct sunlight, please do not ride ANY of the trail.

[mara]

I was at the trail this morning. It's quite solid with a light snow covering right now. It didn't seem too icy under the snow, but still be careful. As long as it stays colder like this, the trail should be good and a lot of fun to ride.

Same rules as always. If parts of the trail start to thaw because of higher temps or direct sunlight, please do not ride ANY of the trail.

The fluffy snow layer made for some *very* slippery rocks in places, so please take logs, armors, and rock gardens a bit more cautiously than you normally might.

You can see ruts from where people were riding the trail during thaw times, but they aren't enough to impact your ride.

[jonesdb]

Good coverage of fresh fluffy stuff out there. Felt like I had done 3 laps when I only did one.

Not too slippery in most areas...I didnt have the traction to think climbing the rock armor was a good idea though. Everywhere else was good.

Those of lesser weight may have better luck :D

[Vert]

Rode Sunday in the fresh snow and balmy temps. Trail was in great shape. The rock garden was sketchy, but everything else rode well.

[Chug]

We snow shoed the trail last night and ran into someone else doing the same. Pugs should be fine but we need some more pack for narrower tires (I think). it feels like it will be nice once it gets a little more love.

[manual63]

The trail is wet with soft snow covering it. Riding it will damage the trail surface. Please do not ride the trail until the temps go well below 32 and everything freezes up again.

[OCary]

The trail is wet with soft snow covering it. Riding it will damage the trail surface. Please do not ride the trail until the temps go well below 32 and everything freezes up again.

Temps are well below freezing and have been there for over 24hrs. Surely whatever the conditions are, frozen is one of them.

Trail received about 2 inches of powdery fluff snow last night.

[widespot]

I snowshoed the trail today and it looked pretty difficult to ride. I was following a guy on a pugsley and he looked to be having a tough time. We have plenty of snow cover now if it ever stops snowing we can pack it down.

[jag]

Your shoeing helped a lot. No more needed though. (murphy needs it)
Pugs can ride the whole trail but others may struggle until a few more passes by the pugs.

[widespot]

Your shoeing helped a lot. No more needed though. (murphy needs it)
Pugs can ride the whole trail but others may struggle until a few more passes by the pugs.

If it snows a few inches again today I will try to tomorrow afternoon. Snowshoeing the whole trail was a pretty good workout actually.

[jag]

Trail has been shoed and is past that stage.
Pugs are doing ok but smaller tires may be hiking a lot.

[RedSquirrel]

Right. Sqrl, shovels n sleds yesterday. Then night Pugs. South loop (hwy55) needs shoe'd. But if you need the exercise shoe whatever tickles your fancy.

[Stonehenge]

Trail has been shoed and is past that stage.
Pugs are doing ok but smaller tires may be hiking a lot.

Still true today. The people who snowshoed today actually scuffed off the top hard coat and it got slippery. A skier and walker also scuffed the trail.

The section I rode that had not been scuffed was noticably better - not slippery and tires did not rut. The area where scuffed was slippery and coult rut down a bit if not carful....even on 4" tire with 6 lbs in it.

I think 2'' tires may work ok soon.
Depends on how much snow and warm weather we get in next 30 hours. If it is the good wet packable snow and gets shoed then and allowed to freeze overnight then it will be goooood !

[widespot]

I rode today with temps in lo 20s and the trail was packed hard and frozen in parts. As long as it stays below freezing trail is good to ride. I would stay off if it gets above 32°F as there will be some sloppy spots that would affect the trail below the ice.

I rode with 2" tires and studs and did not hike once in two laps. I would think unstudded tires would do fine, but watch out for icy spots.

[jonesdb]

Your studs were sliding on the ice in a few places. Made nice markers to tell me when to slow down :p
I usually had to at least drop a foot in areas where I saw lots of stud scratches.

I had to walk up the last section of the steeper switchback that leads into the pine trees near the beginning.

I almost made it up the rocks before i spun out. Most of the trail was fine with my stock tires though.

[Mountain Jam]

It was riding nice and icy around 7pm, the smaller loop is tough going.

[Metal Head]

I was on the trails around noon-ish today. The smaller loop is still tough. The main trail is great. I used 2" tires with no metal carnage. The first five minutes or so of the trail is icy in a number of places. Beyond that, the slick spots are relatively rare.

Get out while it's warm!! (warm= above 0°F):banana:

[V]

Thursday 1/1
4:00

North Loop is excellent!!! Well-packed trail is getting even wider, it's getting really fast. Studded tires not necessary, but be careful for a few icy spots if you don't have them.

[widespot]

Trail is snowier than it has been for a couple weeks, more work than it has been, but it should shape up fast. All tires will work, pugs would be perfect.