Skied from double OO north on the birkie classic trail this afternoon. The trail was just groomed and in fantastic shape. I skied to the 42k mark and from the 37k to 42k there was not a skate mark on it. Perfect snow. Thanks birkie groomers.

(Greg Franzen)

As of 2pm, Birkie Classic trail was groomed and tracked north from OO. Skate trail was not groomed. Ned had just finished tracking the Easy Strider loops, which we skied. By 3pm the OO loops and Korte start area were groomed and tracked to the top of picnic table hill but not beyond.

(Carolyn Senty)

As part of this afternoons sojourn, I ran across fresh grooming on the Classic trail of the Birkie Trail. The skate trail is untouched but on Wednesday afternoon, the classic trail was freshly groomed and beautiful. There was no classic track that I could see extending North on the Power Lines but there is a solid, full depth classic track extending from where the Power Lines enter the woods on the North past Timber Trail which is as far as I skied to the South. The trail is still soft and quite slow with all the fresh cold snow but great skiing regardless.

(Andy Schwartz)

Mainly, this trail report is an excuse to give a huge thank you to all the folks in the Cable and Hayward area who turned out to make yesterday's Birkebeiner such an extraordinary experience. Even with the snow fall at the beginning of the race, the trails were immaculate. The groomers did great work with the heavy snows of the past week. The inside classic track (the one closest to the skate deck in the second half of the race) was incredibly bumpy (confession: I started in Wave 6, so many, many skiers had been on those tracks before I got to them!). That made for some wild downhills! Great race, beautiful trail system, and wonderful conditions. A shoutout to the northwestern Wisconsin crew for making it happen.

(Michael Kuhne)

Birkie Ridge FYI: Skate track looks beautiful, there is not a classic track. Looks like half inch of snow has filled the fresh cord after ABSF plowing/grooming last night. At 08:00 am, 16 deg air temp, 7.9 deg skate track (with i.r. thermometer).

(Tom Dunaway)

I skied on the Birkie Classic trail from the North End to the high point. It got to -15 last night so the snow was a little slow -- but the grooming was perfect. The trail is in excellent condition.

(Dan Murphy)

From the North End trailhead, Joanie and I started on the North End Classic trail at 9 am and it was OK, but somewhat uneven from some new snow and weekend use. Once we spotted the fresh grooming on the Birkie Classic trail, we strided south to the 44k mark and then back North to the 51k mark, ending back at the North End trailhead. The Birkie Classic trail was in pristine condition after having been groomed Sunday night. The track and skate lane was rock solid and we had a great ski. Thanks so much for the Sunday night grooming! It was a great way to wrap up our 4-day trip to Hayward and we had smiles on our faces all the way back to Madison.

(Darren Blankenship)

As good as it gets. I skied north from OO on the Classic trail and back on the Skate trail. Both trails are freshly groomed for skating. There is a firm, full depth classic track on the Classic trail but no track on the Skate trail. To me it felt like it is still a little soft north of OO particularly compared to the trail south of OO but still great skiing.

(Andy Schwartz)

After skating at the North End Trail, Joanie and I skied the Easy Strider classic-only singletrack loop at the Double O trailhead. It had been groomed recently and was in good condition. It is relatively flat, but goes through some attractive woods and enough curves for some variety. We did some of the trail twice for about a 5k ski. It is a nice option at this trailhead.

(Darren Blankenship)

Mid-day I skied classic (waxless) between Hatchery Creek and Gravel Pit. The course was newly groomed (must have been last night) so it was in excellent condition although it was breezy and some forest litter was blowing into the track. The skate deck looked good, too, you bet.

(Donald Quick)